At about this time every year we hear and see about wild fires "destroying"
thousands of acres of forest in Florida or the West. Our own meeting site
this year in Albuquerque is near the site of last year's most famous wildfire
that started as a controlled burn and eventually threatened the National
Laboratory at Los Alamos. As botanists we realize that far from destroying
the natural ecosystem, fire is often a necessary component for maintaining
the vitality of that system. In fact, the plants native to these systems
have evolved adaptations that not only protect them from the effects of
fire, but may require fire to ensure reproductive success. What strange
concepts these must be to an uninformed public (especially those of a generation
that remembers Smoky's motto - - "Only you can prevent forest fires!")

The feature article in this issue describes a curriculum designed not
only to educate children about the ecology of wildland fires, but helps
ameliorate the phenomenon described in the spring issue _ "plant blindness."
It incorporates active learning principles and helps students to view plants
as participants in an active ecosystem _ not just "fuel for the fire."
If you find the program interesting, I encourage you to contact the authors
for more information. They are extremely enthusiastic and willing to share.
- editor

Educational
Program about Wildland Fire Integrates Plant Science into Curriculum

A science fiction story by Edmond Hamilton entitled "Alien Earth" (Hamilton
1949) describes the experience of a young scientist in a tropical country.
The scientist obtains a potion that slows his physiology to a rate at which
he can perceive plant growth and interactions between plants in rapid,
aggressive, even violent motion. He is entranced and refuses to return
to a pace of life "normal" for human beings. How can teachers help their
students see that plants really are this dynamic and interesting? We have
found one way to focus classroom attention on plants. View them as participants
in, and survivors of, one of the most dramatic agents of change in temperate
ecosystems—wildland fire. During the past three years, we have developed,
tested, and implemented FireWorks, an interdisciplinary, inquiry-based
program for learning about fire behavior, ecology, and management. The
program applies ecological concepts to three kinds of pine forest important
in the western U.S.: ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)/Douglas-fir
(Pseudotsuga menziesii), interior lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta
var.
latifolia)/subalpine
fir (Abies lasiocarpa), and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis
)/subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa).
FireWorks
is an example
that may help others design programs that entice students to learn more
about plants, integrate their knowledge with other disciplines, and apply
it to problem-solving situations.

FireWorks consists of a curriculum linked with an educational
"trunk." The curriculum (Smith and McMurray 2000) provides structured programs
of learning activities for students at the primary, elementary, middle,
and high school levels, and has also been used for college-level instruction.
All learning activities in the curriculum use materials from the trunk,
which is available for loan to teachers. The trunk contains laboratory
equipment, plant specimens, kits for feltboard stories and learning games,
posters, CD-ROMs, videotapes, and reference books—all focused on learning
about wildland fire. Eighteen copies of the trunk are currently in circulation
in Montana and Idaho.

Plant Study in an Interdisciplinary Program

Concepts of energetics form the foundation of fire science. Plants use
photosynthesis to capture and store energy from the sun. This energy is
released for metabolism by plants themselves and also by non-photosynthesizing
organisms. It can also be released by one non-metabolic process—fire. Most
students study photosynthesis and metabolism in biology classes and learn
about fire behavior in physical science classes. However, these topics
can be more compelling when studied together. In FireWorks, students
construct "matchstick forests" from matches, masonite, and simple hardware.
They develop hypotheses regarding the effects of slope and stand structure
(density and arrangement of trees) on fire spread in these model forests,
then test the hypotheses (fig. 1). Students construct "tinker trees" (fig.
2) to learn about the effects of tree and stand structure on vertical fire
spread. The curriculum presents these activities as guided inquiries, with
suggestions for open inquiries as follow-up. At the University of Montana,
these fire behavior experiments are used in a chemistry survey class for
non-majors. More than half of students who take the course are majoring
in Forestry or Wildlife Biology, fields directly concerned with fire behavior,
fire effects, and fire management.

Fire provides a context in which morphological properties of plants
are vividly related to survival and persistence. Organs such as rhizomes
and bulbs, for instance, have increased importance to students when viewed
as strategies for surviving and regenerating after fire. The thickness
of tree bark becomes more than a curiosity; it is a species-specific characteristic
allowing variable protection of phloem and cambium from lethal heating.
In FireWorks, students learn about underground plant parts ("buried
treasures") by first observing aboveground parts such as flowers and leaves
from specimens, then hypothesizing ("imagining") and drawingthe
underground parts that they think those plants might have. This work encourages
them to consider the difficulty of

Figure 1. Experiment illustrates effect of slope on fire
spread.

protecting a plant's living cells from fire. After they view each plant's
"real" buried treasure (fig. 3), they discuss how it functions. Middle
and high school students learn about the insulating properties of tree
bark by recording temperature change over time on a physical model of a
tree, in which a newspaper-covered coffee can represents the tree's cambium,
multiple layers of quilt batting represent bark, and a hair dryer produces
heat.

Understanding of tree physiology is crucial to dendrochronology, which
FireWorks
students
use to describe historic fire regimes (patterns of fire frequency and severity
prior to drastic ecosystem
alteration by European Americans). By identifying scars made by surface
fires, counting growth rings between fire scars, and comparing the life
spans of the three pine species used in the curriculum, students learn
three basic principles of fire ecology:

1. Many kinds of trees, as well as other plants, are able to survive
some fires

2. A plant's ability to survive fire depends partly on traits of the
plant itself and partly on characteristics of the community in which it
occurs

3. Different plant communities, even those occurring in close proximity,
may have different historic fire regimes

Students use reference materials in the trunk to learn about several
organisms in each forest type. Then they collaborate to depict the flow
of energy from the sun throughout the resource web, and to dramatize secondary
succession in different kinds of forest with and without fire.

Figure 2. Teachers at workshop use a model tree to investigate
effect of tree and forest structure on fire spread..

Applying What is Learned

Real-world problems bring scientific concepts to life for many students.
FireWorks
requires
students to use what they learn about fire spread, plant functions, and
ecosystem dynamics to address real management questions. Students assess
risk of fire damage to homes built in wildlands. They use a CD-ROM simulation
of fire in ponderosa pine forests to compare fire behavior and effects
following three management choices: removing small trees, removing small
trees and burning with surface fire, and taking no action. They work in
teams to develop objectives and management plans for several scenarios,
including a home and acreage
surrounded by ponderosa pine forest, a forest recently burned by stand-replacing
fire, and a whitebark pine forest threatened by a nonnative invasive fungus.
Learning activities that involve management options do not have "right"
and "wrong" outcomes but require students to use scientific principles
to connect current conditions and management choices to likely outcomes.
This sometimes results in disagreement and controversy in the classroom;
if the disagreements are based on principles of physical and plant science,
they are a sure sign that students are synthesizing and applying what they
have learned.

Field experience provides the logical capstone for studying wildland
fire. FireWorks suggests that teachers use one of two field activities—a
"scavenger hunt" for signs of past fires and their effects, or a field
quiz in which students demonstrate principles learned in the classroom.
Local experts and forests provide many other options for field experiences.
This past summer, we used a tour of a field site on which prescribed fire
had been used, guided by a research ecologist, as a forum for college-level
students to observe and critique fire management; it was also an opportunity
to learn about careers in land management and plant science.

Strengths and Limitations

Since 1998, over 300 teachers have attended workshops on FireWorks,
learning to teach from the curriculum and trunk, and the program has reached
more than 3,000 students. The FireWorks curriculum can be used to
meet local and national teaching standards. Research indicates that the
program successfully increases understanding of wildland fire behavior
among students and adults. Funding to obtain trunks and time for trunk
maintenance are the main obstacles to program implementation.

To determine the effectiveness of FireWorks in a school setting,
Thomas and others (2000) tested 313 seventh graders from 12 classrooms
in western Montana. Written tests showed that students who used FireWorks
mastered fire behavior and ecology concepts better than students in comparison
groups (p<0.0005). In field tests, students who had studied FireWorks
demonstrated
greater understanding of fire behavior and ecology than students in comparison
groups
(p<0.0005). FireWorks students perceived their teachers
as significantly more innovative and interested in student contributions
than did students in comparison classrooms (p<0.0005). The authors
attributed success of the program to the structured, interdisciplinary
curriculum and reliance on hands-on materials. Success may also be attributed
in part to the subject-matter itself—fire, a compelling topic for most
audiences.

Parkinson (2001) assessed the effectiveness of FireWorks in programs
for adults in rural communities of Idaho. She found that, one month after
completing four FireWorks learning activities at a workshop, adults
showed significantly increased understanding of wildland fire (p<0.0001).
In addition, attitudes and beliefs about fire management were significantly
(p<0.05) more positive, both immediately and 1 month after the
learning activities were completed.

Requirements for funding and time are the main limitations of the FireWorks
program.

Hands-on learning in general requires more materials, more space, and
more classroom management than lecture-based learning. It is also slower
in the sense that fewer concepts can be covered in a given time, though
it may not be less efficient in terms of knowledge retention. FireWorks
trunks
cost $3,000 to $3,500 each, an investment few schools can make. Most trunks
are owned by agency offices or nature centers and loaned to teachers for
2 to 3 weeks at a time. After a trunk is returned from a loan, 2 to 4 hours
are needed to check its contents, fix or replace items, and put all in
order for the next loan; this requires time and resources from the loaning
agency or nature center. Teachers can mitigate these limitations by selecting
a small number of activities from the curriculum, obtaining or constructing
materials themselves, and using them in demonstrations rather than hands-on
exercises. However, this approach eliminates the benefits of hands-on experience
and open inquiry and is likely to be less effective than use of an integrated
program of activities linked to the whole trunk.

Botanical and ecological examples used in FireWorks are specific
to the geographic ranges of ponderosa pine, interior lodgepole pine, and
whitebark pine—mainly the central and northern Rocky Mountains, the Intermountain
region, and the eastern Cascades. The information about ponderosa pine
forests also applies to the Sierra Nevada and perhaps the southern Rocky
Mountains. Geographic specificity benefits students who live within the
range of even one of these species because they can visit field sites to
apply what they have learned and talk with professionals working in these
ecosystems. Geographic specificity can be a limitation outside the range
of these three pine species. However, once students understand the botanical
and ecological principles of plant survival and reproduction after fire,
they can apply these concepts to most temperate ecosystems. For example,
teachers in south-central Montana use FireWorks to teach general
concepts regarding fire behavior and diversity of fire regimes; then they
teach specifically about fire history and adaptations to fire in plains
grasslands, the dominant ecosystem in that area.

Conclusions

Wandersee and Schussler (2001) refer to "plant blindness" in our culture—the
inability to see or notice the plants in one's own environment, which limits
understanding of the importance of plants and their habitat. They suggest
several ways to reduce plant blindness, including early and interactive
education in plant science. Another effective strategy may be to integrate
plant science with other sciences in an inquiry-based learning program.
FireWorks
provides
an example of such a program, centered around a topic that most people
find both fascinating and challenging in its practical application—wildland
fire. We hope that educators can use some of the teaching strategies and
learning activities in FireWorks to increase understanding of plant
science and ecology in general, and wildland fire science in particular.

Garon C. Smith
Department of Chemistry, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT

More Information About FireWorks

The FireWorks curriculum is available on the Internet at www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr65.pdf
. Printed copies can be ordered, free of charge, from rschneider/rmrs@fs.fed.us;
request Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-65. Items in the FireWorks trunk
are listed in the curriculum, pp. 247-257; individual items are described
briefly on pp. 258-269. More information on particular activities, and
a CD-ROM containing electronic files for many activities, are available
from Jane Kapler Smith jsmith09@fs.fed.us
or Nancy E. McMurray nmcmurray@fs.fed.us.

Questions and suggestions for incorporation of FireWorks into
introductory-level college science courses should be addressed to Garon
C. Smith garons@selway.umt.edu.

For information on locations of FireWorks trunks available for
loan, visit the Fire Science Laboratory's Web site, http://www.firelab.org/.
Click on "FireWorks," then "Trunk Locations." The same Web site provides
information on teacher workshops; click on "FireWorks," then "Workshops."

News from the Society

Annual ReportsPRESIDENT'S REPORT, 2000-2001.

Items of major import:

The Society conducted its own first meeting successfully at Portland
in 2000, thanks to the efforts and skill of Wayne Elisens, Meetings Coordinator

A Meetings Manager was hired in the Business Office, Ms. Johanne Stogran.
Organization and duties of Business Office personnel have been evaluated
and assigned. A Personnel Committee was established to provide oversight.

An ad hoc Committee was established to evaluate issues relating
to membership, dues structure, resulting in a proposal to be presented
for a tiered membership dues structure. (See later for details)

A Strategic Plan, initiated earlier, has been revised and will be considered
at this meeting in order to establish priorities and an Action Plan.

Specific items: Letters

-Official letter of thanks to former Committee chairs and members

-Formal appointment of new committee chairs, members

-To ASPP objecting to name change; letters to several botanists urging
them to write also

-Fall letter in PSB

-Appreciation for Leisman Bequest

-Proposing name change of Past President's Symposium to Plenary Symposium

-Thank you to Mary Dawson for site visit and report

-Congratulations to Peter Raven on Presidential Medal

-Letter about Corporate Sponsorship Package

-Appointing Dieter Wilkin Chair, Pacific Section

-Raven and Evert dealing with their concerns about McGraw Hill sponsorship

-Thanks to McGraw Hill for support

-Spring President's letter in PSB

-Formal invitation to E. O. Wilson to be Plenary Speaker, 2003

-Karling Award Congratulations letters

-Letter to Rieseberg about Symposium

-Invited Marlene Dickison to meeting

-Letters of invitation to other societies for 2002 meeting in Wisconsin

-Winter email to society members

-Email to Council about proposed change in member rates, page charges

-Assisted with developing job description for Meetings Manager

-Worked on having BSA endorse letter about endangered species applying
to plants

-Corresponded with IBOY, resulting in announcing it on website

Discussion with President of ASPB about joint projects; nothing specific
established. Pursue this

Appointed ad hoc Membership Tiers Committee; informed Council
of outcome of their deliberations after Spring EC meeting; presented proposed
changes to membership in the spring mailing; will bring proposed changes
to a vote at the 2001 BSA Business meeting.

Appointed an ad hoc committee to work out a MOU for interaction
between BSA and AABGA

Provided information and guidance on various committee functions to
committee chairs

Personnel Issues

Received Dawson Report,

Established Personnel Committee to provide oversight of Business Office
and implemented several additional suggestions from Dawson Report

AIBS Council meeting in October, 2000; the initiative to increase staff
working on Public Policy, using funds committed from member societies is
most important issue for BSA to consider

CSSP in December, 2000; discussion of election outcome included consideration
of how to maintain increasing, or even, current funding levels by Congress;
concern about teaching evolution and some of the antievolution movements
was presented, ideas of how to publicize scientific research presented.

AIBS as Council Representative, Board Member in March 2001

Bylaws change about K-12 teachers receiving a special member rate was
written, distributed in spring mailing, and passed by member vote.

Proposed and organized strategic planning/action session, interviewed
and hired David Northington as facilitator, for August 2001. Established
session agenda.

Altered strategic plan into a "wish list" for FAC to use as fund raising

Respectfully submitted,
Patricia G. Gensel, President,

REPORT OF PAST PRESIDENT

Committee on Corresponding Members

As chair of this committee I solicited nominations for one Corresponding
Member. Materials were received and distributed to the EC and to other
Committee members. Stefan Vogel was proposed for membership.

Elections Committee

As chair I worked with the committee members to provide candidates for
President and Treasurer. Ed Schneider and Scott Russell were the nominees
for President-Elect and Joe Armstrong and Carl Taylor for Treasurer. Scott
Russell is President-Elect and Joe Armstrong the new Treasurer.

Plenary Symposium

The title of the symposium is: "Comparative and functional genomics:
evolutionary implications." I decided on the theme of "genomics" for the
Plenary Symposium because of the rapid development of this area of research.
This symposium will explore the rapidly developing impact of genomics research
on evolutionary biology. It seemed a timely topic in that the growth of
this field presents exciting research opportunities to botanists in diverse
disciplines. Speakers are: JONATHAN WENDEL,TOM OSBORN, FRANK ROSENZWEIG,
CHRIS SOMERVILLE, VIRGINIA WALBOT.

Young Botanist Awards

Nominations for these awards were solicited and the supporting materials
reviewed and considered—23 awards were given this year (see Plant Science
Bulletin 47(2):49.)

Doug Soltis, Past-President

Secretary's Annual Report,
2001

This was a transitional year for the office of Secretary, with Pam Soltis
retiring and myself, Jennifer Richards, assuming responsibilities. Pam
completed her term by serving as the Society's Secretary at the BSA Annual
Meeting in Portland, OR, filing the award winners' names from the 2000
BSA Annual Meeting with PSB Editor Marsh Sundberg, preparing the
minutes of the 2000 Business Meeting for the Fall BSA mailing, and orienting
me to the duties of the Secretary.

I attended, took notes, and filed minutes from the summer Executive
Committee meeting in Portland, OR, and the winter Executive Committee meeting
in Columbus, OH. I also attended the BSA Council meeting at the 2000 Annual
meeting and filed the minutes for this meeting. I participated in the on-going
Executive Committee discussions and decisions on BSA business, which occur
via e-mail throughout the year. I also responded to inquiries and correspondence
directed to the BSA Secretary.

With the help of Webmaster Scott Russell, I collected the annual reports
of the Executive Committee, the BSA Council members, and the Committee
Chairs, compiled the reports, and posted them on the BSA webpage. I helped
President Pat Gensel and President-elect Judy Jernstedt plan the agendas
for the 2001 BSA Council and Business Meetings and the agenda for the BSA
Banquet, as well as the agendas for the pre- and post-meeting Executive
Committee meetings.

Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer H. Richards, Secretary,

TREASURER'S REPORT

October 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001

Major Actions Completed:

The financial position of The Botanical Society of America remains strong.
The BSA Endowment Fund assets, invested through Salomon Smith Barney (SSB)
as of June 30, 2001 include:

Managed Funds $1,683,433.76

Select Funds
$ 318,116.37

Total
$ 2,001,550.15

Cash assets held at Santa Barbara Bank and Trust as of June 30, 2001
include:

Non-Profit Checking Account $ 23,465.61

Business Savings
$ 102,252.59

Total
$ 125,718.20

A current and detailed Financial Statement will be distributed at the
Executive Council & Business meetings

Close cooperation continues among the BSA Business Office in Columbus,
Ohio, Mary Dawson, the BSA Certified Public Accountant, and the Treasurer's
Office. Approximately 150 checks for routine bills and awards were distributed
from the Treasure's Office. Most requests for checks utilized the Electronic
Check Request available at the following site: http://www.botany.org/bsa/membership/reimburs.html

Quarterly reports to the BSA Council, section, and special fund chairs/officers
continue to be posted electronically. The BSA financial statements can
be accessed at http://admin.botany.org/budget
The financial statements for section and special fund accounts are updated
on a bimonthly basis. Sectional cash accounts have continued to be awarded
2% per quarter; 8% per annum with balances of $1,000. Special Funds with
a balance of $2,500 have been earning the equivalent rate as the Soloman
Smith Barney BSA Mutual Fund investments. Rates for the first three quarters
of FY 2000-01 have been 1.4%, -7.8%, and 7.9% % for a fiscal year YTD 1.5%
return.

The BSA received the final distribution from the estate of Richard and
Deana Klein, longtime
members of the BSA in the amount of $32, 596.42. The Klein fund which
now totals $232,596.42 has been placed in the SSB fund and the Financial
Advisory Committee will determine the appropriate investment vehicle for
long term growth & security.

The development of a Job Description for the new full time BSA office
staff member (Title: Meetings Manager) was coordinated by the Kim Hiser
& the Treasurer's office and submitted to Ohio State University forprocessing. Several candidates were interviewed during the spring meeting
of the Executive Council held at OSU. Johanne Strogan was selected as the
most qualified applicant and began full-time employment in April, 2001.

The annual performance evaluation of the Business Manager, Kim Hiser,
and the Meetings Manager, Johanne Strogan, was completed by the Personnel
Committee, consisting of the President, President-elect, Treasurer, and
Meeting Coordinator.

MasterCards under the Botanical Society of America name are now held
by the Business Manager, Meetings manager, and the BSA Treasurer. These
have a $5,000 allowance and are used primarily to reduce the number of
checks that need to be written and speed up payment times on BSA purchases.

• All members were encouraged to submit budget ideas during the annual
call for budget requests made in June/July of each year. Last year $27,841.00
of special Initiative/project money was made available from interest earned
from the BSA Endowment Fund. These funds provided support for the following:

Additional AJB signature ($10,000)

Karling awards
($ 5,000)

Education Committee ($ 7,000)

Operational Audit
($ 4,500)

Recommend Actions for FY 2001 2002

1) The new BSA Treasurer will be Dr. Joe Armstrong who will assume the
duties for the new fiscal year 2001-02. I recommend that Dr. Armstrong
visit Santa Barbara, review existing procedures, transfer files, and meet
with the BSA CPA, Mary Dawson to ensure a smooth transition.

2) I recommend that The Society follow through with the recommendations
from the `operational review/audit' of the Business Office as outlined
in the proposal from Mary Dawson, Certified Public Accountant dated December
18, 2000. These recommendations included changes to the following: Establishment
of a Personnel Committee to supervise BSA Office staff; Payroll for Office
Staff be moved to the Treasurer's account; improved vacation/sick time
tracking; improved membership processing; accounting software update; division
of duties with hiring of second BSA Office staff member; review bond coverage;
establishing accounts for annual meetings

3) Recommend that Special Initiative dollars for FY 2001-02 be sequestered
until following the Strategic Planning session scheduled for August 16th
in order to correlate priorities of Society with available financial resources.

2001 Annual Report: BSA
Meeting Coordinator

General Issues

Duty transition to BSA Meetings Manager — Commencing in March
2001, Meeting Coordination responsibilities began a gradual transition
to Ms. Johanne Stogran, the BSA Meetings Manager, in the BSA Business Office.
I cease my activities as the Meeting Coordinator after the Botany 2001
conference. In May 2001, Johanne visited Scott Russell and myself at the
University of Oklahoma campus for a two-day, in-depth tutorial on meetings
management and web-related activities. The transfer of responsibilities
to the Meeting Manager should be complete by the end of the 2001 conference.

Contract negotiations and professional assistance — Conferon,
Inc. continues to serve as our professional meetings management partners
for the 2001, 2003, and 2004 meetings. The Botany 2002 conference will
utilize the UW-Madison conference services to manage the meeting instead
of Conferon. Ed Suddath, executive director of the National Association
of Catering Executives, continues to serve as the BSA consultant for contract
review.

Role of the Meeting Coordinating Committee — The MC committee
served a limited role in coordinating meeting activities. Most consultation
about meeting activities were undertaken with direct consultation with
Johanne Stogran, Jeff Osborn, the EC, and Carol Baskin.

Botany 2000 Meeting

Account review and summary — Review of invoices, itemized accounts,
refunds, and miscellaneous record keeping are intensive activities during
the weeks immediately following a conference. Account review was complicated
because it involved Conferon and myself for invoice review and authorization,
and payment executed through the business office and treasurer. Because
it was necessary to outsource activities such as publication preparation
and exhibition oversight, and because of the cost associated with printing
and mailing the AJB abstract supplement, expenses exceeded revenue for
the Botany 2000 conference. A compounding factor was that the number of
paid registrants fell short of predictions by more than 20%. There were
890 total registrants for Botany 2000 of which 805 paid registration fees.

Analyses of costs and how accounts were managed indicated changes were
warranted in the way we undertook invoice review and payment as well as
how we arranged for conference printing (particularly the AJB abstract
volume), exhibition oversight, publication preparation, and mailing expenses.
Appropriate changes were implemented during Botany 2001 planning to reduce
meeting staging expenses and to make account management more efficient..

Botany 2001 Meeting

Site Planning visit — A planning visit to Albuquerque was undertaken
from September 30 to October 2, 2000. Meetings with all local society representatives,
the fieldtrip coordinator, Conferon account planner, and local service
providers were conducted. This meeting was critical for the success of
the confernce, especially since major problems were detected after visits
to the Hyatt Regency and the Albuquerque CC.

Conference logistics — Contracts are signed with the Hyatt Regency
as the host hotel, and with the Plaza Inn, Hotel Blue, and Doubletree as
overflow hotels. Only the Doubletree has some attrition vulnerability.
The Albuquerque Convention Center (ACC) contract was amended twice to achieve
the best possible room situation. Other major contracts were negotiated
and signed with Conferon as the registration provider, Tour New Mexico
as the destination management company (transportation), Conference Services
of the Southwest for conference decoration and exhibition, VAE for audio-visual
support, and other agencies for printing services, giveaways, security,
etc. Johanne Stogran, BSA Meeting Manager, coordinated the exhibition hall,
food & beverage functions, student projectionists, publication assembly
and printing, and various other components of the meeting. Jeff Osborn,
BSA Program Director, oversaw compilation and layout for the Botany 2001
Program. Caroline Spinner of Conferon oversaw RFP generation and collation
for most contracts as well as preparation of the meeting coordination document,
the conference agenda, which details ALL logistical details for the conference.
Jim Goodman of Conferon handles sales-related items such as contract development,
which are reviewed by the Conferon legal department. I served as general
coordinator for the meeting, reviewed and negotiated most contracts, prepared
the budget, and acted as the primary liaison between the conference activities,
Conferon, and our consultant. A detailed review of the Botany 2001 budget
and status report was presented at the spring EC meeting in March 2001.

Botany 2002 Meeting

August 2-7; University of Wisconsin at Madison, Pyle and Lowell Conference
Centers.

Meeting with AFS, ASPT, BSA, CBA/ABC, and PSA.

Conference logistics — Meeting management for Botany 2002 will
be undertaken by the BSA Meeting Manager and UW-Madison conference services.
Conferon was utilized only to secure two overflow hotel contracts at the
Howard Johnson Plaza and Madison Inn. The meeting will be staged on the
UW campus, in two campus conference centers, and in campus dorms and hotels.
The expanded meeting format is facilitated by the reduced staging expenses
by using a campus facility.

Meeting Personnel — Most society local reps are designated and
include Ray Evert (BSA), Paul Berry (ASPT), Linda Graham (PSA), and Jean
Gerrath (CBA). The Meeting Manager and Program Director will oversee coordination
of the meeting logistics and program, respectively, which will make most
duties of the Meeting Coordinator obsolete.

Special considerations — Because UW meeting space has no rental
fees, there is the potential for considerable cost savings for Botany 2002.
It is anticipated that utilization of UW conference services also may effect
cost savings. These savings coupled with reduced housing expenses should
result in a conference that costs less to stage and to attend. There are
special problems with a campus venue. There are limited options for exhibitors
and there are often logistical problems on a campus because buildings are
under different management.

Conference Logistics - Working with Conferon, contracts are in
place with the Mobile Convention Center and the Adams Mark Hotel as the
host hotel. Rates at the Adams Mark are $99 sgl/dbl. Contracts with two
overflow hotels are still under negotiation as well as for some dormitory
space at the University of South Alabama. There will be a tiered housing
option for attendees. The MCC is a modern facility, is adjacent to the
revitalized downtown, and has a scenic placement by the Mobile riverfront.
We have a commitment from E. O. Wilson to serve as our Plenary Speaker.
Local society reps and the fieldtrip coordinator are available from Alabama
and Mississippi. Because of the abundance of wetlands and aquatic and marine
habitats, a tentative theme is `aquatic and wetland plants'.

Special considerations — There are many opportunities for fieldtrips
to interesting sites on the Gulf coastal plain and to marine and aquatic
habitats. Two botanic gardens are in Mobile and environs and there is an
adequate group of active, retired, and amateur botanists/horticulturalists.
Local reps are limited at the Univ. of South Alabama and will be recruited
throughout the region. Because of the hot and humid venue, extra effort
will be required to `market' the meeting starting at the Madison meeting.
Recruitment of additional societies to meet with the core botanical societies
is underway.

Site selection — Sites for the 2004 meeting were examined in
St. Paul, MN, Reno, NV, and Salt Lake City, UT and environs. Although an
excellent venue for our group, costs in St. Paul were prohibitive for our
group. Formal bids were solicited from two venues in Reno and three venues
in the Salt Lake City area. Jeff Osborn and I conducted a `fam' (= familiarization)
visit to Salt Lake City and Snowbird, whereas I had conducted site visits
previously to Reno (with Judy Verbeke) and to St. Paul (with Carol Baskin).
Based on negotiated rates and other considerations, Jeff Osborn, Johanne
Stogran, and I recommended that we go to contract with Snowbrid Resort.

Conference logistics — Air travel to SLC is facile, because Delta
has a hub in SLC. Shuttle service to the resort is an extra expense and
entails 30-45 minutes of extra travel time. The University of Utah, BYU,
Utah State University, and Weber State have an adequate supply of local
society reps and a fieldtrip coordinator. There are many options for fieldtrips
in the Intermountain and Rocky Mountain region.

Snowbird resort has excellent meeting facilities and will be able to
stage professionally our full conference and exhibition. Negotiated hotel
rates are $105 sgl/dbl at the Lodge, $115 sgl/dbl at the Cliff Lodge (top
of the line lodge), and $125 for condos that sleep 4-6 with kitchenettes.

Special considerations — The retreat type setting in the Rocky
Mountains and Intermountain region was viewed as an interesting site for
the 2004 meeting.

Botany 2005 MeetingVenue to be determined; dates open;
societies open

REVIEW OF MEETING COORDINATION ISSUES

1. Position of `Meeting Coordinator'

Acquisition of the BSA `Meeting Manager' makes the position of `Meeting
Coordinator' redundant. With a slight increase in the duties of the Program
Director, the position of the Meeting Coordinator could be eliminated.

Recommendation — Eliminate the position of Meeting Coordinator
by amending the by-laws.

2. Status of `Meeting Coordinating Committee'

Based on experience for two meetings, a small committee is optimal for
conferring on meeting-related issues and for forwarding recommendations.
In addition to the Meeting Manager and Program Director, it may be best
to have only one other knowledgeable individual on the committee to make
it responsive and cohesive.

Wayne Elisens, MeetingCoordinator

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

General Planning for Botany 2001

I served on the Meeting Planning Committee and assisted the BSA Meetings
Coordinator, Wayne Elisens, and BSA Meeting Manager, Johanne Stogran, with
an array of planning issues.

Planning Visit for Botany 2001

In October 2000, I attended a planning visit at the site of the Botany
2001 conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The meeting was very useful
for planning Society functions, viewing potential meeting sites, and for
meeting with the BSA Local Representative, Diane Marshall, as well as with
the program chairs and local representatives from other participating societies.
We visited the Albququerque Convention Center, the host hotel (Hyatt),
and a variety of local botanical and scientific sites. The site visit was
coordinated by the BSA Meetings Coordinator, Wayne Elisens.

Coordination of the Scientific Program for Botany 2001

Communication with Program Chairs and Symposium Organizers. The BSA
Program Director coordinates the scientific program with the help of the
sectional/participating society Program Chairs. The symposium organizers
plan the sequence of presentations within their own symposia and then forward
the symposia programs to the sponsoring sections for scheduling. To coordinate
these activities, the sectional/society Program Chairs and the symposium
organizers were sent several mailings and e-mail updates that provided
detailed instructions and a timeline for preparation and submission of
their programs.

Call for Symposia. The "Call for Symposia" for Botany 2001 was distributed
in the BSA-wide Spring 2000 mailing and posted on the Botany 2001 website.
The deadline for submissions was July 1, 2000, but was extended to September
15, 2000. Proposals were submitted on-line using the electronic submission
form. Symposium proposals were forwarded to sectional officials for approval
of sponsorship.

Call for Papers. The "Call for Papers" for Botany 2001 was distributed
in the BSA-wide Fall 2000 mailing and posted on the Botany 2001 website.
The "Call" was also sent to the Program Chairs of participating societies
for their use. The deadline for submissions of abstracts was March 9, 2001,
more than one week later than in previous
years. Although submission of hardcopy abstracts was possible, on-line
submission was strongly encouraged.

Electronic Submission of Abstracts. The electronic submission process
worked very well again in 2001 (the third time it had been used for an
annual meeting), and all abstract submissions for Botany 2001 were
made on-line. All abstracts and other relevant information (keywords, author
names and affiliations, titles, potential conflicts with other presentations,
etc.) were archived in separate electronic databases that the Program Chairs
could access and download to construct their programs. The BSA Webmaster,
Scott Russell, developed and organized the electronic site, and he made
significant improvements to site for 2001.

Abstract Volume. The abstracts for Botany 2001 will be printed in a
separate volume and included in the registration binder along with the
final Program, which will be distributed on-site at the conference. I coordinated
the design and layout work for the volume, as well as the proofing. There
will be 674 abstracts published in the volume; however, these do not represent
all conference presentations (see `Summary Information' below).

Final Program. The deadline for submission of sectional/participating
society programs was early April 2001. The Program Chairs deserve much
credit for organizing and submitting their programs. The sectional/society
programs, as well as all BSA-wide and conference-wide functions were organized
into a comprehensive, conference-wide format. Session information was then
submitted to the BSA Meetings Coordinator, Wayne Elisens, for room assignments.
I then coordinated the design and layout work for the final Program.

News Coverage. The news divisions of three national periodicals, Science
magazine TheScientist, and Science News were contacted with
information about Botany 2001 and an inquiry about obtaining news coverage.
A press release about Botany 2001 was also prepared for distribution to
local and regional news outlets.

The Scientific Program for Botany 2001

Summary Information. All BSA disciplinary Sections have some function(s)
scheduled at Botany 2001 except for the Mycological and Tropical Biology
Sections. However, the Tropical Biology Section is a co-sponsor of the
new conference-wide Discussion Sessions. Detailed schedules for the sectional
programs are presented in the final Program, and summary information for
the number
of presentations and sessions for the entire conference is presented
below.

New and Noteworthy Program Components. As Botany 2001 is the
second annual meeting in many years that the BSA has completely organized,
many planning aspects were new or only tried for the second time.

Program organization. Like last year, rather than each participating
society having separate listings in the final Program with different session
numbers that are variously cross-referenced, the scientific program for
the entire meeting in chronologically listed with conference-wide session
numbers. The days of the week are clearly indicated by vertical tabs on
the page edges. In addition, components of the scientific program are presented
in several `At-a-Glance' sections. The intent of these changes is to make
the scientific program more cohesive for the conference as a whole and
to make the final Program a more user-friendly document.

Recent Topics posters. A new poster session was introduced last
year with an extended abstract submission deadline. `Recent Topics' is
designed to accommodate research results that may not have reached fruition
by the March deadline. Abstracts were accepted on a first-come, first-served
basis until all available poster slots (50) were filled, or by an absolute
deadline of July 20, 2001. Thirty posters were submitted and, of these,
only six presenters already had another presentation(s) scheduled for the
meeting.

Single, conference-wide poster session. A single, conference-wide
poster session was included into the scientific program, with sectional
posters grouped together. The intent was to schedule the poster session
at a time when no other conflicting paper or symposium sessions would be
scheduled.

Discussion Sessions. In addition to encouraging the sectional/societal
program chairs to directly incorporate more discussion into their sessions,
several independent Discussion Sessions have been included in the program.
These new Sessions are based in part on Bruce Kirchoff's successful "Open
Space" symposium that was a component of the Developmental and Structural
Section's program last year. The goal for Botany 2001 is to translate this
into a conference-wide format that is well-incorporated into the overall
scientific program. A "Call for Discussion Session Topics" was distributed
to all BSA members in the spring 2001 mailing and was posted on the websites.
The deadline for topics was June 15, 2001. Four contributed Discussion
Session topics were submitted, and these are timely, interesting, and have
broad appeal. In addition to the contributed sessions, there will be a
lead-off Session titled "Presidents' Forum: federal funding for botanical
research," which will be a panel format with Society representatives and
NSF Program Officers. All five Discussion Sessions are scheduled for Tuesday
and Wednesday afternoons. The Discussion Sessions are being sponsored in
part by the BSA Developmental and Structural and Tropical Biology Sections,
and this sponsorship helps defray the costs for the coffee.

Future Annual Meetings

2002 _ Madison, Wisconsin. Botany 2002 will be held from August 3-7,
2002 in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to the BSA, other societies participating
in the conference will include the: American Fern Society (AFS), American
Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT), Canadian Botanical Association (CBA),
and Phycological Society of America (PSA). The International Association
of Wood Anatomists (IAWA) may also sponsor some sessions. Potential themes
for the conference are "Botany in the Curriculum" and "Integrating Botanical
Research and Teaching."

Calls. The "Call for Symposia," "Call for Workshops," and "Call
for Field Trips" for the 2002 Annual Meeting were distributed in the BSA-wide
Spring 2001 mailing and posted on the Botany 2002 website. Copies of these
"Calls" were also sent to the Program Chairs of participating societies.
Deadlines for submissions of on-line proposals are as follows: Symposia
(July 15, 2001 for the Paleobotancial and Systematics Sections, and September
15, 2001 for all other Sections); Workshops and Field Trips: (October 15,
2001). The "Call for Papers" will be distributed in the BSA-wide Fall 2001
mailing, as well as posted on the website.

New Meeting Component - Expanded Format. The expanded format
will include a separate meeting that focuses on educational and outreach
issues on Friday and Saturday, August 1-2, but that is linked to the annual
scientific meeting on Sunday, August 3, via workshops and field trips.
A Planning Committee, which includes representatives from all participating
societies and the Education Committee, is working on the program and will
meet in person at Botany 2001 in Albuquerque. A tentative schedule is listed
below, and the membership will hear much more about the expanded meeting
format in the coming Fall and Spring mailings and in the Plant Science
Bulletin.

Friday afternoon/evening will include registration, an opening speaker,
and some type of reception. An opening (i.e., working) session may be included
as well.

The primary sessions will occur all day on Saturday. These will not
be contributed talks, etc., but exclusively breakouts, panel discussions,
etc. focusing on a range of themes. Contributed posters from attendees
may be included on Saturday. If the authors choose to stay for the regular
conference as well, the posters could also be presented as part of the
program there. Saturday night will be a public outreach speaker (free and
open to the Madison-area public).

Sunday will include a broad range of hands-on workshops. These will
be the primary interface with the regular conference. More education-oriented
workshops will be solicited and included than have occurred in the recent
past. A variety of half-day and full-day workshops will be desired so people
could attend more than one workshop if they choose, and/or participate
in field trips, which will occur on Sunday as well.

2003 _ Mobile, Alabama. Botany 2003 will be held from July 26-31, 2003
in Mobile, Alabama. Programmatic planning for Botany 2003 has not yet begun
in any significant way. However, E. O. Wilson has accepted an invitation
to deliver the Plenary Address, and a potential theme has been identified
("Aquatic and Wetland Plants").

2004. Along with the BSA Meetings Coordinator, Wayne Elisens, I attended
a "familiarization" visit to the Salt Lake City area. The visit was organized
by the Salt Lake City Convention and Visitor's Bureau and was designed
to provide meeting planners with the opportunity to have on-site visits
to potential conference sites. The "fam" visit was very informative and
useful. The mountain resort area of Snowbird, which is ca. 30-45 minutes
from Salt Lake City, was a very appropriate venue for our conference, and
Wayne Elisens has been negotiating with Snowbird and Reno, Nevada as potential
sites for hosting the Botany 2004 conference.

4 ~17% of all manuscripts received a `split decision'; 54%
of all of these manuscripts were accepted; rejection rate for all manuscripts,
on average, was ~ 44%.
5 Receipt of final manuscript to appearance in print.
Time from submission to appearance in print ~ 9.3 months due to
delay of authors providing revised manuscripts for 3rd review
or final manuscripts after successful first round of reviews. The
time to appearance in print in governed by the number of manuscripts published
per issue not by the efficiency of journal staff.

4. Highlights: Backlog of manuscripts reduced by ~35% since the adoption
of larger issue-size. Turn-around time from receipt of final manuscripts
to appearance in print reduced by ~5% (compared to August 1999 _ July 2000).
Time from receipt of new manuscripts to editorial decision reduced, on
average, by ~ 1 week. Number of `split decision' manuscripts reduced by
~13%. To conserve pagination for new research articles, Special Papers
and book reviews have not been actively solicited, although we continue
to look for excellent SP and will publish reviews of highly significant
new books. Two new copy-editors hired at the junior level have increased
efficiency at little or no additional cost. Citation Index ranking of the
AJB
steadily increasing. AJB has been mentioned in Science and
Science News.

Request for staff annual salary increments and additional copy-editor
(to be hired at junior level). Reduce institutional and individual subscription
rates in developing countries (as defined by NATO). Raise an endowment
for the AJB (add item to membership/subscription form). Increase
advertising in the e_AJB. Appoint AJB editor-in-chief as
a non-voting member of the BSA Executive Committee.

Respectfully submitted,

Karl J. Niklas

Editor-in-Chief, AJB (kjn2 @ cornell.edu)

2001 Editor's Report,
Plant
Science Bulletin

Volume 46

1. Four issues, 136 pages, were published on schedule. The average size
since the current format was adopted (excluding the transitional year when
Editor Lane submitted an early resignation) is 132 pages. It is distributed
quarterly, packaged with the American Journal of Botany.

2. Feature articles included:

- Growing an Undergraduate Botany and Plant Pathology Program 46(1)

- Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation: A Center for Science and
History 46(2)

- The Bernhardt Top Ten; Hershey's Top Ten 46(3)

-The Evolving Debate 46(4)

3. 135 books, CD's and Videos were received for review; 44 reviews were
published.

4. Both PDF and HTML electronic versions are posted on the BSA web page.

Volume 47

1. Two issues, 84 pages, have been published on schedule. The fall issue
is in preparation.

2. Feature articles included:

-Toward a Theory of Plant Blindness 47(1)
-Ethics in Science: Preparing Students for their Career 47(2)

Upcoming articles will be on "The Fireworks
Curriculum" and "Margaret Stone's Flowers of Louisiana"

3. 88 books and CD's have been received for review; 42 reviews were
published.

Individuals interested in submitting lead articles or in suggesting
future article topics should contact the editor.

Totalpage requests: Total hits: 1,040,823 hits (from
March 4, 1997 through June 30, 2001).* Last year's annual report had 584,844*
(from March 4, 1997 through June 30, 2000) so activity is up significantly.

Main BSA Site (www.botany.org): In June 2001, there were 37,287
page requests, with logins from 11,697 distinct hosts, 1.265 Gbytes (39.145
Mbytes/day) downloaded from the main BSA site, 81 countries, 1,846 distinct
files and 147,579 individual requests. The high month for page requests
was February 2001, with 50,481 page requests. The high month for distinct
hosts was May 2001, with 15,201 distinct hosts, data transfers of, 1.402
Gbytes (46.342 Mbytes/day) and 201,202 individual requests. The highest
number countries visiting was 85, in April 2001. Every month of 2000 (except
December) and 2001 (except June) have exceeded monthly counts from the
year before. The highest daily usage ever was July 28, 1997 when the site
was featured as site-of-the-day by Yahoo!!, receiving 3,966 hits on that
day. The second highest was March 1, 2000, with 9751 total requests and
2,402 page requests. On 28 days in May, page requests were over 1000 on
just the home site alone (three Sundays did not reach 1000)!

Here is a summary chart of activity for the major domains and sub-domains.
All show a strong effect of the academic year being in session. The usage
figures are provided in pages downloaded and the volume of data downloaded
in MB (megabytes) or GB (gigabytes). The highest usage month of a site
is indicated by a hash mark (#).

BSA now runs its own web servers, domain name servers, mail service
and security systems. Steve Wolf runs the BSA Directory. In addition to
the time involved in running these services, there is a risk of catastrophic
failure of systems due to damage to both the system and the upstream network,
and increasingly hacker attacks. Constant upgrades and maintenance are
needed and have to be considered as expenses in this undertaking. During
the next year the task of webmaster and systems administrator will be split.
Steve Wolf will be the new webmaster as of September 1 and Scott Russell
will remain as systems administrator. A back-up systems administrator is
in training at the University of Oklahoma to handle emergencies when Scott
Russell is out-of-town (which is usually when such emergencies happen!).

Increasingly, the webmaster should be looked at as a content coordinator
rather than a content generator or online secretary. As different technologies
for generating web pages are employed, it should be easier to institute
changes so that any interested party will be able to update or write their
own web pages on to the server. Therefore, the direct involvement of the
webmaster will be to supervise high order links to independently-controlled
pages and overseeing their general organization and quality. Having a person
with the ability to serve as a part-time web developer, providing artwork
and layout for attractive (award-winning, hopefully) web projects would
be highly desirable.

The web versions of documents and membership are increasingly becoming
the focal set of references for the BSA. Future web use should increasingly
use the web to electronically archive digital correspondence as it serves
as an ideal means of disseminating information within the BSA membership
and leadership and to the outside world.

BSA Image Site: This site continues to be popular and fluctuates
with the academic term. The server has provided up to 6000 pages of data
in one month with almost 3 gigabytes of data downloaded. A few negative
comment in educational journal reviews have resulted in changing information
accompanying use of the site. Included in this is a FAQ, pointing out how
routine word processors like Word can be used to modify picture formats
and correct contrast and brightness.

American Journal of Botany Online has now been in operation
for over two years. During that time, a total of 200,000 page retrievals
occurred in the last year (~7,100 per week) with a total of 32.35 Gigabytes
of data downloaded (16 GB in the last ~6 months) and >58,000 PDF files
(~reprints) downloaded, with 30,200 in the last ~6 months. Over the last
year, growth has been approximately 100%. The following charts document
the growth in usership over the last year. Unique hosts are separate distinct
computer connections being made per week. PDFs are the reprint-like files
downloaded per week. The lower graph illustrates the massive increase in
amount of data downloaded per week.

The Conservation Committee has increased contacts with other conservation
groups, reviewed a request from the California Native Plant Society, and
developed ideas for longer-term activities.

Contact with other plant conservation groups.

The Conservation Committee has continued its contact with other plant
conservation groups such as the IUCN, the Plant Conservation Alliance,
the Garden Club of America, and the California Native Plant Society. We
intend to continue these interactions and to keep lines of communication
open. Additional contacts are being made in an effort to publicize the
existence of the Committee as a service to the BSA and other interested
parties.

Role of the Botanical Society of America in environmental advocacy.

The Conservation Committee has been asked to comment on a solicitation
of endorsement received from the California Native Plant Society. In this
solicitation, the BSA was asked to endorse an "open letter" from the CNPS
and other plant conservation groups urging that the Federal Endangered
Species Act be emended to give equal protection to plants as given to animals
(particularly vertebrates). Several conservation groups (e.g., National
Parks and Conservation Association, Sierra Club, etc.) and native plant
societies (e.g., Florida, Oregon, Indiana, etc.) have signed this petition
but no other professional society has. For lack of consensus on the issue
and an unclear picture on the BSA rules for advocacy, we have not directly
signed this letter but have decided to develop a plant conservation position
statement for the BSA. At the request of BSA President Gensel, we are currently
working on guidelines for this position statement and for BSA advocacy
in general.

Many other professional societies maintain stated positions on issues
of concern such as increased federal funding for scientific research and
international treaties such as the Kyoto protocol on Global Warming. The
BSA itself has sent letters to the governors of Kansas and Tennessee on
the teaching of evolution in schools. However, Article XIV.3 of the BSA
bylaws states:

"Whereas The Society exists for scientific and educational purposes,
it may engage in efforts intended better to inform the public on issues
pertaining to plant science and the influences of plants on people as an
element in the biosphere. The Society, nevertheless, shall not allow any
part of its activities to become those of lobbying or espousing particular
scientific, economic, political, social, or religious doctrines or dogmas."

Given what seem to be conflicts between the wording of the BSA bylaws
and the actual and/or desired level of advocacy, the Conservation Committee
is currently evaluating comparable by-laws for other professional societies.
A summary of these will be presented to the BSA president as recommendations
for BSA positions on similar issues.

Responding to inquiries.

Several unsolicited letters were received from interested parties asking
for information on plant conservation, wishing to volunteer their time
to plant conservation efforts, or specifically asking for funding from
the BSA. Responses to these letters were made and the parties were directed
to the requested information or contacts.

A solicitation for funds to help publish a brochure on invasive species
was received from the Plant Conservation Alliance. Although the deadline
for requests for the upcoming budget has passed, this solicitation will
be forwarded to the Council for consideration.

Charges for the future

President Gensel has asked that each Section and Committee develop ideas
for future efforts and directions. Several ideas for the Conservation Committee
have been discussed including publication or assistance with publication
of materials related to plant conservation, development of BSA Plant Conservation
web pages, organization and support of symposia for discussion of plant
conservation issues, and more direct coordination with other groups concerned
with plant conservation.

Some of these ideas can be addressed directly within the current structure
of the Conservation Committee but others can only be accomplished through
reorganization as a Section. The BSA by-laws permit Sections (as interest
groups) to hold symposia and to promote research and education in their
respective areas. Committees, however, serve largely as sources of information
and advice to the Council and normally do not hold symposia. Creation of
a Plant Conservation Section is not being proposed formally at this time
but the idea has been presented and we request input and feedback for future
consideration.

Respectfully submitted,
William J. Hahn, Chairperson,

Education Committee

The committee continued work on several major projects:

Improvement of Pre-College Science Education

GOAL: To support the improvement of science education through participation
at conventions of science teachers.

STATUS: Again this year, the Education Committee and the Teaching Section
cooperated in representing the BSA at the annual meeting of the National
Science Teachers Association in St. Louis, MO (April 6-9, 2000).

NABT: Met this year in Orlando but BSA was not represented. Our
budget request for 2000-2001 (for $10,400) was approved at only $7,000—not
enough to cover both conventions. We feel we can reach more teachers, including
elementary teachers, at NSTA (by far the larger of the two conventions)
but we need to make more efforts to assist high school and community college
biology teachers and our presence at NABT would be a good way to reach
that goal. We're asking that funding be restored this year.

NSTA: Rob Reinsvold and Dan "Tim" Gerber staffed
the BSA booth. They were assisted by Jason Yusten, Meghan Buck, Megan
Thomas, and Eric Reinsvold. Drs. Reinsvold and Gerber also presented
a workshop on "Spice Rack Botany" to a standing-room-only crowd. Conference
attendance totaled approximately 20,000 teachers (of all the sciences)
and we had direct contact with at least 1,500 of them. We propose having
a BSA presence at the 2002 national NSTA conference in San Diego, CA, and
have submitted proposals for 2 workshops in addition to the booth.

The success of this outreach attests to the need for expansion of these
efforts. We encourage BSA members to attend regional conferences
of NSTA. We also need to expand our commitment to presenting workshops
at these conferences.

Motion: That the Council approves a sum, not to exceed $10,400
(for travel, lodging, registration fees, booth rental and handout materials)
for selected BSA members to attend national, regional, or state meetings
of organizations like the National Association of Biology Teachers and
National Science Teachers Association for the purpose of presenting workshops
on plant biology in the K-16 and community college curriculum and distributing
educational materials in support of expanding the quantity and quality
of plant biology. The proposed budget is on the next page:

*Expenses at NSTA are higher because it is a much larger conference
(more attendees) and, therefore, tends to be in venues that charge more
for exhibit space.

If the Council approves the expenditure, the Education Committee, as
in the past, will select members to represent BSA in these activities and
will authorize payments upon proof that the workshops and other outreach
activities were performed as proposed.

Discussion Session at the Albuquerque BSA Meeting

GOAL: To support BSA members as their institutions modify curricula
in the direction of eliminating or drastically reducing studies of plant
biology.

STATUS: Gordon Uno has organized a discussion for this meeting,
"The future of botany at the undergraduate level" (Tuesday, 3:30-4:30 pm,
Session D3 - ACC, 201-La Cienega). As stated in Dr. Uno's abstract,

BSA members report, with increasing frequency, attempts across the country
to eliminate or reduce the number of botany courses taught at the undergraduate
level, to reduce college/university resources directed toward plant science
activities, to replace retiring botanists with scientists from other disciplines,
as well as attempts to eliminate entire botany departments and programs.
These events have had and will continue to have a major impact on graduate
programs and the future of the botanical sciences at the undergraduate
level. This roundtable discussion will include members of the Education
Committee of BSA, but is open to all interested members.

We hope to hear from BSA members who may have experienced "assaults"
on botany at their home institution or from members who have had success
in convincing colleagues and administrators of the importance of botany
to the life sciences and to their college or university.

We will generate a "vision statement" in the defense of botanical sciences
that focuses on the importance of keeping botany in the undergraduate curriculum.
We also hope to develop a list of useful methods and strategies to include
plants in the study of modern biology at the undergraduate level and a
list of the best practices to attract and keep undergraduate majors and
minors in botany.

Poster: McIntosh Apple Growth and Development

GOAL: To provide attractive, accurate, inexpensive educational materials
for teachers of plant biology at all levels.

STATUS: With approval of Council, the EducationCommittee's major project
this year was the publication of a four-color poster showing 20 stages
in the growth and development of a McIntosh apple. David Kramer,
chair of the Education Committee, organized the project. Design and printing
was done at the Ohio State University Printing Facility. McGraw-Hill Publishers
(thanks to sponsoring editor Marge Kemp) provided $2800 to cover
printing costs for 8,000 posters and another $250 to partially support
the honorarium ($750) for the photographer/artist, Brent Seabrook
of Lakewood, OH. Steve Rice and Amy Russell at Union College
created hands-on activities related to the poster. Their carefully conceived
pioneering work can serve as a model for additional learning activities
which can be added in the months ahead. Finally, our overworked and underpaid
web master, Scott Russell, contributed many hours of work to take
material from several contributors and mold it into a unified design on
the BSA web site [http://mcintosh.botany.org//]. The Education Committee of the Botanical Society is indebted
to each of these people, members and non-members, for their support in
our effort to improve the quality of plant science education.We
have received many compliments from teachers who are using the poster and
activities. The poster is an excellent handout for teachers at the BSA
booth at their conventions. Copies are available at this meeting at the
BSA booth.

It should be noted that in addition to the poster as a single artistic
work, BSA also has permission from the photographer/artist to publish the
individual images on our web site for free downloading for educational
purposes. The copyright agreements behind this project were new to us and
are on file as models for future projects.

There have been some questions about the method of funding this project
and whether the inclusion of the McGraw-Hill logo on the poster is any
kind of BSA endorsement for their company or publications. The request
for approval and funding of this project was brought before the Council
at the August 6, 2000 meeting in Portland. The concept of the proposal
was approved (including the use of a sponsor's logo) but the Council, regretfully,
could not fund it. The chair was encouraged to seek outside funding. McGraw-Hill
was the first publisher approached and they eagerly agreed to support the
project. This kind of "creative financing" perhaps should be pursued for
future BSA projects. This approach has been taken by ASPP and other societies
who have projects much larger than our own. The widespread practice is
not seen as an endorsement by the vendors but merely as an expression of
appreciation to the scientists who write, invent, and use their materials.The
need for outreach is so enormous that it can never be adequately funded
from BSA members' dues alone.

Future Possibilities for Education Committee Projects

Note: Many of these have been on this list for several years but are
still viable projects.

To publish hands-on, discovery-type plant biology exercises for use
in schools as well as at colleges and universities. We now have a model
for publishing these on our web site and/or in hard copy (but web publication
is less expensive and more easily edited and expanded.

To publish a white paper about the role of plant biology in the undergraduate
curriculum.
This idea will be explored in a discussion here at the Albuquerque
meeting.

To offer assistance to publishers who are seeking professional review
of manuscripts for plant biology and general biology books. We want to
make sure the plant biology content is correct before it is published.
A national review of science textbooks used in the schools strongly criticized
the inaccurate science content and the boring pedagogical approach of most
of these textbooks.

To publish instructions for growing plants in the classroom with a list
of easy-to-grow plants that illustrate various morphological and/or taxonomic
principles. This idea grew out of discussions with representatives of the
American Horticultural Society but has not been pursued.

To add images to our online plant image data base and also to improve
the captions on many of the images.

To work with Program Chair Jeff Osborn to develop his outstanding suggestion
for a new format for the 2002 meeting scheduled for the University of Wisconsin.
The facilities at UW support workshops and presentations using the latest
in educational technology. We want to take advantage of that. Plans for
educational meetings prior to the traditional conference will be developed
at this meeting.

Final Comment

In addition to its appointed members, the Education Committee has a
number of volunteers who help with various projects. Any member who wants
to be actively involved with any of the committee projects should contact
the chair.

The chair thanks all members and volunteers of the committee for their
support and especially thanks the officers of BSA for supporting the work
of this committee and encouraging the BSA to be more active in educational
outreach. My 5-year term as member and chair of the Education Committee
comes to a close at this meeting and I shall always cherish the friendships
made through the committee's activities.

Respectfully submitted,
Dr. David W. Kramer, Chair

Annual Report, Elections Committee

As chair I worked with the committee members to provide candidates for
President and Treasurer. Ed Schneider and Scott Russell were the nominees
for President-Elect and Joe Armstrong and Carl Taylor for Treasurer. Scott
Russell is President-Elect and Joe Armstrong the new Treasurer.

The 2000 Katherine Esau Award was given to Chris Meloche from the University
of Colorado, Boulder, for a paper co-authored with Pamela Diggle on "Patterns
of carbon allocation in Acomastylis rossii (Rosaceae), an alpine
plant exhibiting extreme preformation." Four students have requested to
be considered for the Esau Award this year.

Respectfully submitted,
Phil Gibson, Chairperson,Esau Award Committee

BSA/Karling Student Research
Award Committee

Purpose and Funding: The Karling Graduate Student Research Award
was instituted by the Society in 1997 with funds derived through a generous
gift from the estate of the eminent mycologist, John Sidney Karling (1897-1994),
and supports and promotes graduate student research in the botanical sciences.
To be eligible, an applicant must be a member of the Botanical Society
of America (BSA), a registered fulltime graduate student, have a faculty
advisor who is also a member of the BSA, and not have won the award previously.
Initially, in 1997, two awards were presented, but interest in the program
was so great that in 1998 the Society began supplementing funds from the
interest on the original $10,000 gift with moneys stemming from proceeds
of sales of BSA logo items. In 1998 and 1999, ten awards were presented
annually. In 1999, the council approved a further major influx of funding
for the program, now renamed the BSA/Karling Graduate Student Research
Award, and authorized up to 15 awards for the 2000 competition. Because
of changes in the economy, up to 10 awards were authorized for the 2001
competition.

Committee Organization and Membership: This is the third year
that the BSA/Karling Graduate Student Research Award Committee has been
charged with evaluating submissions for awards. Initially, proposals were
submitted to the BSA Discplinary Sections, reviewed and ranked by sectional
officers, and then forwarded to the BSA Executive Committee for further
review and funding decisions. The committtee revised and distributed the
"Call for Applications", reviewed all submissions, made funding decisions,
and communicated with the applicants. The 2000/2001 committee membership
consisted of:

2001 Submissions: This year we received 33 proposals for the
Karling Award (10 less than last year). As in previous years, the generally
high quality of the proposals made the selection process difficult. Of
the 33 proposals received, 20 designated (or fit) the systematics section
affiliation, four designated genetics, and there were two designations
each for bryology, ecology, structure/development, and paleobotany. One
proposal came from the phytochemical section.

2001 Awards: Ten BSA/Karling Graduate Student Research Awards
will be presented at the 2001 BSA banquet. Each awardee will receive a
certificate and a $500 award. The 2001 awardees are as follows:

Whittall, Justen; Phylogenetic tests of ecological speciation
in the North American columbines; University of California at Santa Barbara;
Advisor _ Dr. Scott Hodges; Genetics Section.

Membership
and Appraisal Committee Annual Report

New posters and brochures describing the work of the society and types
of memberships available were mailed to BSA Campus Representatives last
fall through Kim Hiser in the BSA Business Office. Representatives are
asked to put up a poster about the Botanical Society and answer questions
about membership. There are approximately 240 representatives from most
of the states (except Idaho, Utah and West Virginia) and 11 countries.
States that are well represented include California, Illinois, New York,
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Additional representatives
would be helpful in Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota,
and Rhode Island. The Chair of this committee was on the ad hoc Membership
Tiers Committee that made recommendations about restructuring membership
in the Botanical Society to compete more effectively with the American
Society of Plant Physiologists, newly renamed the American Society of Plant
Biologists. The Membership Tiers Committee Report was sent to the BSA Executive
Committee and used as the basis for making recommendations about membership
at the 2001 annual meeting. The recommendations included a restructuring
of membership dues, new categories of membership, and additional options
for membership with or without electronic access. Assuming the changes
are approved at the annual meeting, new posters and brochures will be sent
to the Campus Representatives this fall.

Membership in the Botanical Society over the last 10 years has dropped
by about 200 members, from 2,575 in 1991 to 2,363 members in 2001. Systematics
is the largest section and has stayed approximately the same in size for
the last 10 years. Other large sections are the Ecological, Teaching, Developmental
and Tropical sections. The Physiology section has seen the largest drop
in membership.

For the coming year this committee will 1) maintain and update the list
of BSA Representatives, 2) support a mailing of new posters and brochures
with updated membership information at the beginning of the academic year,
and 3) encourage maintaining the core membership, reaching out to new members
through the internet and personal contacts (perhaps current members could
receive some sort prize for recruiting new members), and developing new
membership categories such as K-12 teachers.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen Shea, Chairperson,Membership and Appraisal Committee

2001 Annual
Report of the Financial Advisory Committee (FAC)

The FAC has the responsibility for managing the BSA Endowment Fund.
The BSA assets are invested through Salomon Smith Barney (SSB). In the
fall of 2000, the majority of endowment funds were reorganized under a
management group (managed funds) within SSB and about 15 percent of the
endowment was retained in an unmanaged money market fund within SSB. All
of these funds are divided among the following categories (as of June 30,
2001):

Ø The BSA Endowment fund has grown 7% since June 2000 ($1,867,492.41)
and has grown 126.4% since its inception 7.5 years ago (12/93; $884,317).
This represents an average increase of about 16.86% per year.

Ø The BSA received the final payment ($32,596.42) to the endowment
fund of a total gift of $232,596.42 from the estate of Drs. Richard and
Deana Klein, longtime members of the BSA. Acknowledgement of this gift
has been recorded with the estate officials and in the PSB.

Ø The stock market has been quite volatile this year. The timely
change to both an SSB managed account and an unmanaged money market account
last fall greatly reduced losses to the endowment. An SSB representative
will be meeting with the FAC on Saturday prior to the Council meeting (see
above** for meeting time and location) to provide this assessment, and
make recommendations about the Endowment Fund for this coming year. Based
on this past year's market losses and increases from transfers and gifts,
the FAC recommends the following:

Recommendation 1: The FAC recommends that $27,400 be used from
the Endowment Income for the `special initiatives' during the 2001-2002
fiscal year, as determined by the Executive Committee and Council per Guideline
4. (see Guidelines below).

Recommendation 2: The FAC recommends that the section and special
accounts with $2,500 or more annual balances, receive an interest rate
of 8 percent, except in a year when the endowment fund interest falls
below this level. In that year the interest rate will be 2 percent less
than the endowment interest rate. (note italicized paragraph at
the end of this report)

Ø At the 2000 BSA Annual Meeting, the Council approved: 1) money
be spent to prepare a brochure and letter to be sent to selected members
of BSA; and 2) pursue and evaluate the need to hire a development firm
to aid in increasing contributions to the Endowment Fund.

1) Last fall, 431 letters and brochures (389 USA and 42 foreign) were
sent to individuals who
had been members for 25 years or more (1975 or earlier). As of this
report, the Business Office has received little response and has estimated
that increased giving (as of April 2001) to the endowment fund increased
only $792 over the previous year. No assessment of the long-term impact
of this approach has been made. However, the FAC realized that this approach,
given time and resources, was the least likely to receive a positive response.

2) Since last fall, the FAC has solicited two proposals from development
officers/firms (Charitable Fund Raising, Inc. and Daniller + Company).
It has evaluated the proposals and the costs for hiring a firm during at
least a three-year period. The FAC believes that this approach is a viable
way to significantly enhance the BSA Endowment Fund to support a variety
of areas that the Executive Committee (EC) has identified in its deliberations
this spring and summer, regarding a strategic plan. Details and costs related
to the following recommendation will be presented to the Council in relation
to the EC strategic plan.

Recommendation 3: The FAC recommends that Daniller + Company
(Mae Daniller, President: consulting team, Mae Daniller and David Northington)
be hired for a period of up to three years (with the option of extending
this term) to serve as the development firm to raise funds for the BSA
Endowment.

The Endowment Fund Guidelines and Interest Earnings
for Special and Section Accounts are available on the web site report.

Summary of How Interest Earnings for Section Accounts and Special
Funds are Determined by (adopted in 1999):

Section cash accounts with the balance of over $1,000 will earn 2% quarterly;
8% per year.

All special funds with a balance of $2,500 or greater will earn the
same percentage market rate as the Society's Salomon Smith Barney portfolio.
Please note that in some quarters this may result in an actual loss of
funds, but based on historical averages, each section should enjoy improved
growth of their special fund account(s). Those sections whose balance in
below $2,500 may wish to move the special fund balance into the cash account
fund and take advantage of the 8% yearly rate of return.

The remaining committee and section reports will be published in the
Winter Issue, 47(4). They may be viewed on-line at the BSA Website.

The BSA Merit Award Committee is pleased to recommend that the 2001
award be given to Carol and Jerry Baskin. We were impressed by their extensive
contributions to the field of seed ecology, each having about 300 articles
and other important publications. Their lab is the only one in the world
that has been able to maintain a research focus on seed ecology for such
a long time, since the mid-1960s.

The Baskins have also written a highly-praised book, "Seeds-Ecology,
Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, published in 1998
by Academic Press. An exerpt from one review of this book states " Carol
and Jerry Baskin bring many years of seed germination experience with a
wide array of species to what is an inspiring work. They interweave their
own studies of numerous temperate North American species with those done
by others world-wide. To provide some idea of scope, individual chapters
contain hundreds of references, with two chapters each having more than
a thousand. Just as the number of studies presented is extensive, so too
is the number of species. Nearly 6400 are listed in the taxonomic index!
These species provide a substantive base for the concluding discussion
of biogeographic and evolutionary aspects of seed dormancy and germination.
We are indebted to the Baskins' for their fine contribution, surely a labor
of love, to the seed literature."

Proponents also cite Carol and Jerry Baskin's generous service to the
Botanical Society of America and other societies, on editorial boards,
and in helping undergraduate and graduate students. They have been an inspiration
to their own students and colleagues worldwide as exceptionally kind and
tolerant people

C. Gleason Award

Each year the New York Botanical Garden presents the Henry Allan Gleason
Award for an outstanding publication in the field of plant taxonomy, plant
ecology, or plant geography. The Gleason Award for 2001 is presented to
Dr. Kathy Meney and Dr. John Pate for their book, Australian Rushes:
Biology, Identification and Conservation of Restionaceae and Allied Families,
published by the University of Western Australia Press. This publication
represents a masterly treatment of all aspects of the biology of the Australian
rushes. Augmented by the superb illustrations by Ellen J. Hickman, it combines
excellence in both plant taxonomy and plant ecology, successfully bringing
these two areas together in its focus on the conservation of these fascinating
plants and their habitats and requirements.

D. Section Awards:

A.J. Sharp Award (Bryological and Lichenological Section)

The A.J. Sharp Award is presented each year by the American Bryological
and Lichenological Society for the best student presentation. The award,
named in honor of the late Jack Sharp, encourages student research on bryophytes
and lichens.

This year Honorable Mentions go to Linda C. Fuselier of the University
of Kentucky for her paper on "Sex-specific and environment-dependent phenotypic
selection on pre-adult traits in Marchantia inflexa," and to Scott
W. Schuette of Southern Illinois University for his paper on "Morphology
of the simple thalloid liverwort Jensenia Lindb. (Pallaviciniaceae)".

This year's A.J. Sharp Award goes to Dennis P. Wall from the
University of California, Berkeley, for his paper "Population structure
and patterns of island radiation in the paleotropic endemic moss, Mitthyridium:
insights from a rapidly evolving nuclear gene, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
dehydrogenase (gpd)."

Katharine Esau Award (Developmental and Structural Section)

This award was established in 1985 with a gift from Dr. Esau and is
augmented by contributions from Section members. It is given to the graduate
student who presents the outstanding paper in developmental and structural
botany at the annual meeting. This year's award goes to Steven Jansen
from the Institute of Botany and Microbiology, K.U. Leuven, Kasteelpark
Arenberg, for his paper "Vestured pits: a wood anatomical character with
strong phylogenetic signals at high taxonomic levels." Co-authors were
Pieter Baas and Erik Smets.

Ecological Section Award (Ecology Section)

The Ecological Section Award is given for the best student paper presented
at the meetings. This year's award honors 2 students:

Radika Bhaskar from Stanford University for her paper "Responses of
hydraulic traits to light and water availability in a California chaparral
shrub." David Ackerly was co-author.

Nicole Sudler from University of Kentucky, Lexington, for her paper
"Phenotypic selection on sexual reproduction vs. clonal expansion in five
populations of Viola blanda."

The best student poster in the Ecological Section was by Priscilla Callahan
from University of Oklahoma, entitled "The effects of mesquite (Prosopis
glandulosa) encroachment on species diversity and composition of a
mixed grass prairie." Bruce Hoagland and Phillip Crawford were co-authors.

Economic Botany Section Poster Award

This award for the best student poster at the annual meetings goes to
Susannah
B. Johnson from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM. for her
poster "An ethnobotanical study in Tamil Nadu, India, of Phoenix humilis
and Borassus flabellifer (Arecaceae), focusing on their combined
use in the construction of brooms."

Margaret Menzel Award (Genetics Section)

The Margaret Menzel Award is present by the Genetics Section for the
outstanding paper presented in the contributed papers sessions of the annual
meetings. This year's award goes to Briana Gross from Willamette University,
Salem, OR, for her paper "Potential multiple origins for Helianthus
deserticola, a diploid hybrid species." Her paper was co-authored by
Andrea Schwarzbach and Loren Rieseberg.

The Genetics Section Poster Award is given for the best student
poster at the annual meetings. This is a new award, which is planned to
be continuing. This year's award is given to Hannah E. Thornton
from Florida International University and Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami,
FL. The title for her poster was "Genetic variation in fragmented populations
of an endangered dune plant: implication for its conservation." Co-authors
were Cynthia Lane and Javier Francisco-Ortega.

The Genetics Section Graduate Student Research Award, given to
support student research in genetics, is awarded to Lena Hileman of
Harvard University for her proposal "Molecular evolution of floral symmetry
genes (CYCLOIDEA and DICHOTOMA) in a recent tetraploid Mohavea."

The Maynard F. Moseley Award was established to honor Dr. Moseley's
career of dedicated teaching, scholarship, and service in structural and
evolutionary botany. The award recognizes a student paper that best advances
our understanding of the anatomy and/or morphology of vascular plants within
an evolutionary context. Two awards will be presented this year. The awardees
are:

Genaro Hernandez-Castillo from the University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada for his paper "Evidence for compound pollen cones in Paleozoic
conifers". Co-authors were Gar Rothwell and Gene Mapes.

Maria Von Balthazar from the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,
for her paper "Floral structure and phylogeny of Buxaceae." Her co-author
was Peter Endress.

Isabel C. Cookson Award (Paleobotanical Section)

The 2001 Isabel Cookson Award, recognizing the best student paper presented
in the Paleobotanical Section, is awarded to Aude Soria of Universite
Montpellier, France, for her paper entitled "Development and architecture
of a gondwanan representative of the late Devonian genus Pietzschia
(Cladoxylopsida). Co-authors were Brigitte Meyer-Berthaud and Stephen Scheckler.

Li-Cor Prize (Physiological Section)

The Li-Cor Prize from the Physiological Section acknowledges the best
physiological presentation made by any student, regardless of sub discipline,
at the annual meeting. The award this year goes to Tara Lin Greaver
from the University of Miami for her paper "The effects of reflected light
on the anatomy and photosynthesis of Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R. BR. (Convolvulaceae),
a tropical sand dune vine."

The Edgar T. Wherry Award is given for the best paper presented during
the contributed papers session of the Pteridological Section. This award
is in honor of Dr. Wherry's many contributions to the floristics and patterns
of evolution of ferns. This year's award goes to Sabine Hennequin
from the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France, for her paper
"Systematics of the fern genus Hymenophyllums.l. (Hymenophyllaceae)
inferred from rbcL and rps4 nucleotide sequences and morphology."
The paper was co-authored by Jean-Yves Dubuisson.

The ASPT's Cooley Award is given for the best paper in systematics given
at the annual meeting by a botanist in the early stages of his/her career.
Awards are made to members of ASPT who are graduate students or within
5 years of their post-doctoral careers. The Cooley Award is given for work
judged to be substantially complete, synthetic and original. This year's
Cooley Award is given to Mary Kathryn "Maggie" Whitson from Duke University
for her paper "Untangling Physalis (Solanaceae) from the physaloids:
two-gene phylogeny vindicates the splitters."

Things To Come

A day-long BSA planning exercise involving current and several past
BSA officers took place in Albuquerque on Thursday, August 16, 2001. It
was facilitated by botanist and professional planning consultant David
Northington. Details of this meeting and the outcome will be in the Fall
letter from the BSA President.

AnnouncementsBotany
2002 Conference to Include a new `Forum' on Botanical Education and Outreach

The Botanical Society of America (BSA) will hold its next annual meeting
in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to the BSA, four other professional
societies will participate in the Botany 2002 conference, including the
American Fern Society (AFS), the American Society of Plant Taxonomists
(ASPT), the Canadian Botanical Association (CBA), and the Phycological
Society of America (PSA).

In addition to the regular conference, which runs from Sunday through
Wednesday (August 4-7), Botany 2002 will include an expanded format. A
new Forum focusing on botanical education and outreach will be held on
Friday and Saturday (August 2-3), and it will be linked to the annual scientific
meeting on Sunday (August 4) via workshops and field trips.

The Forum will begin on Friday afternoon and evening with registration,
an opening speaker, and a reception. The main sessions will occur on Saturday.
Although some informational sessions will be included, the program will
primarily include interactive panel and roundtable discussions as well
as breakout groups focusing on a range of topics. General session themes
being considered include `Investigative Laboratories,' `Botanical Content
in the Curriculum,' `Undergraduate Research,' `Graduate Student & Junior
Faculty Development,' `Funding,' `Outreach,' and `Management.' A public
outreach lecture, open to the entire Madison-area community, will be presented
on Saturday night. Sunday's offerings will include a broad range of hands-on
workshops. Two-hour, half-day, and full-day workshops will be organized
so that attendees can participate in more than one workshop, and/or participate
in field trips, also being planned for Sunday.

A Planning Committee, including representatives from all societies meeting
at Botany 2002, is developing the Forum program, and encourages all members
to participate by submitting topics/organizing Sessions and Workshops,
as well as attending the Forum. A Call for Session Topics will be
distributed to all BSA members in the Fall mailing and will be available
on the Botany 2002 website http://www.botany2002.org/.
The Call for Workshops has already been posted on the conference
website. General questions or comments should be directed to the BSA Program
Director: Jeffrey M. Osborn, Division of Science, Truman State University,
100 E. Normal Street, Kirksville, MO 63501-4221. Tele: (660) 785-4017,
Fax: (660) 785-4045, E-mail: josborn@truman.edu.

New Resource
at the New York Botanical Garden Provides Access to Unique Historical Collections
of More Than a Century of Exploration

The New York Botanical Garden's Archives, part of the collections of
The
LuEsther T. Mertz Library, maintain a one-of-a-kind collection of items,
artifacts, and papers resulting from the research of botanical explorers
associated with the institution. The holding of these collections have
been summarized on newly released Web Finding Guides. The Guides,
created to aid the researcher in locating material within the collections,
also provide personal and professional profiles of many of the men and
women who have contributed to the history of botanical exploration and
the evolution of the modern conservation movement.

Among the many profiled are such renowned botanists as John Torrey and
Asa Gray, co-authors of the profoundly influential Flora of North America;
Thomas Edison who worked with the Garden to find a domestic rubber producing
plant; Alexander Anderson who invented the process used to puff wheat and
rice; and Otto Degener who discovered the missing link between fruiting
and non-fruiting plants.

The archival Finding Guides provide biographical notes on the people
whose extensive collections are held in the Library and a descriptive list
of the contents _ from John Torrey's vasculum; to a letter dated 1631 from
the Countess de Cinchon, for whom the cinchona plant (from which quinine
is derived) is named; to letters, picture, and reminiscences describing
19th and 20th century expeditions. They can be accessed
at www.nybg.org/bsci/libr/List1.html.

These collections of primary documents and artifacts piece together
stories of botanical exploration. They document war-time expeditions; reveal
emerging concepts of plant evolution; illustrate intricate social currents
between scientific communities of the developed and non-developed world;
sketch complex motivations of scientists and their sponsors; detail the
emergence of contemporary attitudes toward conservation; and much more.

Since 1994. the Library has provided public access through its online
catalog of the bibliographic records for all book and serial holdings.
This catalog is called CATALPA, the CATAlog for Library Public
Access,
and found on the Web at librisc.nybg.org/screens/opacmenu.html.
Another Internet research tool, "The Virtual Herbarium of The New York
Botanical Garden" is the Garden's ongoing initiative to digitally catalog
its world-renowned Herbarium containing more than 6.5 million preserved
plant specimens from around the globe. This tool can be accessed via the
Web at www.nybg.org/bsci/cass/.

Symposia, Conferences, Meetings

VIII LATIN AMERICAN BOTANICAL
CONGRESS

The VIII Latin American Botanical Congress will be held at the Convention
Center, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, October 13-18, 2002. It is being
organized by the Latin American Botanical association (Asociación
Latinoamericana de Botánica-ALB), the Colombian Botanical Association
and the National University of Colombia, so far with financial support
from the Latin American Botanical Network (RLB). The first circular has
already been distributed via Internet. This VIII Congress continues a tradition
which started in México City in 1972; we will be celebrating 30
years since the very successful 1st. Latin American Botanical Congress.
The Organizing Committee is inviting the international botanical community
to participate actively in this important gathering. Previous Latin American
Congresses have attracted between 700 and 1500 participants. Many colleagues
will remember that the 4th. Latin American Congress was held
in the city of Medellín, Colombia, back in 1986. For additional
information please contact the Organizing Committee at the following e-mail
address: congrbot@ciencias.unal.edu.co

Each year Harvard University awards a limited number of Bullard Fellowships
to individuals in biological, social, physical and political sciences to
promote advanced study, research or integration of subjects pertaining
to forested ecosystems. The fellowships, which include stipends up to $35,000,
are intended to provide individuals in midcareer with an opportunity to
utilize the resources and to interact with personnel in any department
within Harvard University in order to develop their own scientific and
professional growth. In recent years Bullard Fellows have been associated
with the Harvard Forest, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
and the J. F. Kennedy School of Government and have worked in areas of
ecology, forest management, policy and conservation. Fellowships are available
for periods ranging from six months to one year and can begin at any time
in the year. Applications from international scientists, women and minorities
are encouraged. Fellowships are not intended for graduate students or recent
postdoctoral candidates. Information and application instructions are available
on the Harvard Forest web site (http://lternet.edu/hfr/).
For additional information contact: Committee on the Charles Bullard Fund
for Forest Research, Harvard University, Harvard Forest, P. O. Box 68,
Petersham, MA 01366 USA or email (drecos@fas.harvard.edu).
Annual deadline for applications is February 1.

Botany Field Collecting Position

The Biological Diversity of the Guianas Program, U.S. National Herbarium
_ MRC166, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 20560-0166, U.S.A.,
has an opening for a plant collector. Beginning in January, 2002, the individual
selected will spend a year in the Guyana, South American collecting plant
specimens (minimum of 12 months in the Guianas), and one to two months
in Washington, D.C., helping to identify these collections.

The position is a one-year contract and contains an active program of
field work performed by the contractor to include no less than 5-6 field
trips of 3-4 weeks (minimum) duration per trip into the interior of Guyana.
Location of the trips is developed in consultation with the Program Director.

This position is open to all qualified individuals and will remain open
until a suitable person is found. The Smithsonian is an affirmative action/equal
opportunity employer.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

The Biology Department, University of Nebraska at Omaha, announces a
tenure-track, assistant professor position in plant physiology, starting
August 2002. A completed Ph D in plant physiology or closely-related discipline
is required. Postdoctoral research and/or teaching experience are desirable.
Applicants with research interests in any area of plant physiology will
be considered. Teaching responsibilities include an upper-division/graduate
plant physiology course with a laboratory and participation in introductory
biology survey courses. Graduate courses in the area of specialization
may be developed. The successful candidate is expected to establish an
active research program. The university and department are strongly committed
to achieving diversity among faculty and staff. We are particularly interested
in receiving applications from members of under-represented groups and
strongly encourage women and persons of color to apply. For more information
about the department see the website (www.unomaha.edu/~wwwbio/)
. Screening of applications will begin October 1, 2001, and continue until
the position is filled. Send CV, statements of teaching and research objectives,
and three letters of recommendation to Chair, Biology Department, University
of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68182.

Chairperson, Department
of Plant Biology, Michigan State University

Michigan State University invites applications and nominations for the
position of Chairperson for its new Department of Plant Biology.
Candidates should be qualified to hold the rank of tenured Full Professor.

The Department has more than 30 faculty members, strong graduate and
undergraduate programs, and a support staff of career professionals. It
is built on the concept of integrating all sub-disciplines of plant biology,
ranging from evolution and ecology to molecular genetics. It maintains
a close working relationship with the adjoining MSU-DOE Plant Research
Laboratoryand with other academic units in the biological sciences. Research
is conducted in a modern research building, at an on-campus field facility,
at the Kellogg Biological Station, and at field sites throughout the world.
The Department is funded internally by the College of Natural Science and
the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. The new chairperson will
have the opportunity to significantly influence the future direction of
the new department through the filling of several open positions.

The Chairperson is expected to provide leadership and to promote a creative
environment for instruction and research. Candidates must possess an established
record of scholarship, proven leadership and interpersonal skills, and
a vision of innovative programs in research and education. Continuation
of an active research program is encouraged and supported.

Applicants and nominees should submit a complete curriculum vitae and
any supplemental material that they deem helpful for a preliminary screening.
Every effort will be made to maintain confidentiality until the final slate
of candidates is selected. Review of applications will begin October 1,
2001, and will continue until the position is filled. Please send application
materials to:

Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.
MSU is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

PLANT ECOLOGIST.

The Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University seeks exceptional
candidates to conduct innovative investigation of the use of plants and
plant communities to remediate environmental problems.

This 12-month tenure-track Assistant Professor position will be available
January 1, 2002. The successful candidate will develop a strong program
of basic research supported by extramural funding in an area of ecology
underlying important environmental issues; collaborate with professional
and industry colleagues to identify and address relevant, important environmental
issues; and participate in undergraduate and graduate education. Qualifications
include a Ph.D. in ecology, horticulture, forestry, or other relevant field;
and excellent training and accomplishments at the postdoctoral level. Applicants
must submit a narrative describing their vision for this position, curriculum
vita, copies of transcripts, and three reference letters sent directly
from the writer. For additional information, call or e-mail Dr. William
Proebsting,541-737-5454, proebstw@bcc.orst.edu.
The department website is at: http://www.orst.edu/dept/hort/.
Send all application materials to Viki Freeman, Dept. of Horticulture,
OSU, 4017 ALS, Corvallis, OR
97331-7304.

For full consideration, all application materials must be received by
November 1, 2001. Oregon State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal
Opportunity Employer and has a policy of being responsive to the needs
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The Biology of Lower Plants.
Willemse, M.T.B..2000. (CD-ROM US$80 single copy; $420 six copies).
Wageningen UR Library, P.O. Box. 9100, 6700 HA Wageningen, The Netherlands
(www.agralin.nl/lagere-planten/demo2.htm). This CD is neither a traditional
textbook, nor a laboratory manual, nor an encyclopedic source of information.
It might be looked upon as a textbook with the bulk of the verbiage removed.
The author uses photographs, line drawings and animations in conjunction
with very limited written text to explain taxonomic, ecological, physiological
and developmental processes and information emphasizing non-seed plants.
This CD is an important contribution because it begins to show the potential
of what this format can attain.

There is an overall menu with blocks organized in columns for various
plant assemblages: Algae, Fungi, Lichens, Mosses, Ferns, Seed ferns and
Seed plants, and rows for categories of information: Introduction, Cytology,
Development, Form and function, Reproduction, Dispersal, Life cycle and
biotype. For Seed ferns and Seed plants only blocks for Reproduction are
included. Subjects are often explored by clicking on buttons or diagrams
or words. The animations of photosynthesis, tip growth, sinking rates of
differently shaped planktonic organisms, etc. are among the highlights
of the CD. The animations of the red algal or wheat rust life histories
should make these difficult patterns transparent to virtually any student.
Each section has a set of study questions in a variety of short answer
formats that really do test understanding.

The work has a number of shortcomings. It desperately needs an index
so that one can find particular topics. It is frustrating to know that
there is something on photosynthesis or tip growth, and not have a simple
method of finding it. There is a glossary, and it would be useful to be
able link the definitions with the appropriate section of the CD where
the concept was illustrated. The CD is designed for a linear examination
of the topics for each plant assemblage, with side branches for deeper
exploration of material. What is needed in addition is a mechanism to explore
related concepts in different plants. I would also like to have been able
to bookmark pages and then access them quickly, without having to remember
in which menu block it was placed. The work suffers from being a translation,
with the author and his editors not being fully at home in English. There
are too many typographical errors (e.g. thalleus and xylane), and generic
names are not italicized. The typos are especially unfortunate when they
occur in taxonomic names, e.g. "Mycomycota" for Myxomycota. There are also
a number of errors, e.g., alginate is given as the matrix polysaccharide
for all algae not just for brown algae. Furthermore, some of the terminology
is wonky, e.g., the various forms of "limnion" (as in epilimnion) referring
to stratification in the "sea" rather than in lakes.

The classification used here is particularly annoying. It is as if the
last 25 years of phylogenetic advances never occurred. Despite claiming
to treat plant phylogeny, I did not find a single cladogram. The motif
of the `tree' that symbolizes biology's most important concept is absent.
For a phycologist it is particularly frustrating to see all eukaryotic
algae placed in a single division, Phycophyta, and then to have the primary
algal groups as subdivisions. I can see why the author wanted to group
information for algae, fungi, bryophytes, etc. under single headings; however,
I would like to have seen phylogenetic trees that would illustrate actual
relationships of taxa. This would have been preferable to the paraphyletic
and polyphyletic assemblages that are provided without discussion.

I would not recommend this to all botanists, but if you make extensive
use of digital projections during lectures, many of the animations and
images would be marvelous teaching aids. This CD would also be useful to
introductory biology/botany students looking for concise summaries when
studying. Despite problems, this is the most useful CD that I have seen
as a learning tool in biology. It really does illustrate many basic concepts
in elegant and digestible ways. The challenge for authors and publishers
will be to use this model and then to improve on it. — David Garbary, Department
of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, B2G
2W5.

Green
Plants: their Origin and Diversity 2nd ed. Bell, Peter R. and Alan
R.Hemsley. 2000. ISBN 0-521-64673-1 (Paper US$31.95) 349 pp. Cambridge
University Press, 40 West 20th Street. New York, NY 10011-4211.
- First of all, the authors are to be congratulated for making the effort
to update a general plant morphology book in this era of DNA technology!
The comprehensive Morphology of Plants and Fungi by Bold. Alexopoulous
and Delevoryas, last revised in 1989, is now out of print, and admirable
though Gifford and Foster's Morphology and Evolution of Vascular Plants
is, it is too restricted to serve as the main text in a "survey of the
plant kingdom" type of class.

The format follows that of the first edition: An introductory chapter
outlining general features of the plant kingdom, followed by three chapters
on the algae, organizes according to the major photosynthetic pigments,
one chapter on bryophytes and four on vascular land plants. The useful
summary of characters preceding the treatment of each division has been
retained, as well as the Suggestions for Further Reading for each chapter.

An addtional section on the origin of the eukaryotic condition has been
added to the introductory chapter; this expounds an interesting (if not
generally accepted) autochthonous origin of plastids. Much recent cladistic
work has been used to revise the taxonomic treatments, so that all land
plants belong to the subkingdom Embryophyta, the vascular plants are treated
as a single division, Tracheophyta, the lycopsids with their lateral sporangia
are sister to all remaining vascular plants, and both the ferns and horsetails
are derived, together with the seed plants, from the trimerophyte line.
The psilophytes are treated as an order of ferns, and the heterosporous
aquatic ferns as the single order Hydropteridales. Seed plants are accorded
their own subdivision (as are the lycopsids and the horsetails plus ferns
) with each of the major seed plant lines treated at the level of class,
except the angiosperms, which are treated as two separate classes, the
Magnoliopsida and the Liliopsida. The treatment of fossil material has
been somewhat amplified, and the names of time periods revised. The Suggestions
for Further Reading for each chapter have been updated as well.

A few problems remain from the first edition; there is no discussion
of the origin of the seed plant stele nor was the glossary revised. Terms
such as phragmoplast, phycoplast, leptosporangium, microphyll and megaphyll,
used in the description of classes, and clamydosperm and anthophyte used
to describe lineages, are nowhere explicitly defined. Furthermore, the
authors' use of terms is sometimes unusual and sometimes inconsistent.
For example, they include all oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, even those
that are prokaryotic, in the kingdom Plantae. The term pteridosperm some
times is equivalent to their class Lyginopteropsida (ie Paleozoic forms)
and sometimes used in the usual, more general sense that includes the Mesozoic
forms. The term gymnosperm is sometimes used to mean non-angiosperm seed
plant and sometimes to mean archegoniate seed plant (i.e. non-anthophyte).
Flower is defined so as to include the reproductive structures of Gnetopsida
and possibly some of the Mesozoic seed ferns, yet in some places the text
uses flowering plant and angiosperm synonymously, as is more general usage.

Although the Suggestions for Further Reading are updated, there are
a few areas where the material in the new references is not incorporated
into the text's discussion. In particular, the ultrastructural and nucleic
acid sequence data indicating the polyphyly of the chlorophyll a &
b and chlorophyll a & c -containing groups of algae is glossed over,
and the arguably very important work of Friedman on double fertilization
in the Gnetopsida is not described.

My students complained bitterly throughout the semester that they could
not understand the book. My first inclination was to dismiss the criticism,
since I sometimes think they would complain that a comic book was too difficult
if I assigned it for class. However, going back over the book for this
review, I decided that there are a number of places where the clarity of
the text could be improved. For example, the discussion of red algal life
cycles would be improved by the equivalent for Polysiphonia of the outline
and sketch of the life cycle of Ectocarpus presented in Figures 4.14 and
4.15. In fact, similar life cycles would also be useful review for the
bryophytes and pteridophytes, particularly the heterosporous forms usually
omitted from introductory courses. Clarity would be improved overall if
the class characters and ordinal characters were more consistently and
explicitly explained. The representative genus approach is traditional
in morphology texts, but I found myself constantly referring to other works
to determine whether a particular feature was characteristic of a class,
an order, or of the particular genus.being described. For example the statement:
" The Jungermanniales and the Metzgeriales...contain both leafy and thalloid
forms." is of course true as it stands but surely obscures the fact that
Jungermanniales has essentially only leafy forms and Metzgeriales fundamentally
thalloid ones.

Table 6.1 and figure 6.5 were particularly confusing for teaching. Figure
6.5 has several taxa nested within other taxa of the same rank. All the
ferns are considered to belong to the class Polypodiopsida, yet Table 6.
1 uses Eusporangiatae and Leptosporangiatae (i.e., terms using old class
endings) to group orders. Why not use the current subclass rank? A better
alternative still would be to use the purely descriptive terms "eusporangiate
ferns" and "leptosporangiate ferns" since the former are united only by
the lack of the evolutionary novelty leptosporangia. As indicated above,
the basis for grouping classes of seed plants is not adequately described.
Admittedly, how to handle the entirely fossil groups of Mesozoic seed plants
is a question no one has adequately resolved. Finally, I find it hard to
be comfortable with a classification where monocots differ from dicots
at the same rank either differs from pines or pines from cycads!

Overall, the book is very useful as the principal text in a survey course
in plant morphology, The authors are to be commended and I look forward
to a third edition. - Alicia Lesnikowska, Georgia Southwestern State University,
Americus GA.

Wetland Ecology Principles
and Conservation. Keddy, P. A. 2000. ISBN 0-521-78367-4 (paper US$52.95)
ISBN 0-521-78001-2 (hardback US$140.00) 614 pp. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK. - This text is the latest arrival in the excellent Cambridge
Studies in Ecology series, and accordingly represents a critical review
aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students and professional researchers.
The author's expertise in wetland ecology is impressive and represents
more than 25 years of research in this area, including innovative contributions
to studies of competition, assembly rules and conservation. Thus, this
book provides a comprehensive, thorough and up-to-date coverage of the
current state of ecological knowledge for wetland systems. The book's readability
is smooth with lucid presentations of all topics, avoidance of unnecessary
jargon and the efficient use of uncomplicated figures and tables to emphasize
major points. I found it enjoyable to read and easy to comprehend. The
references have been carefully and appropriately selected. Most citations
date from the 1980's and 1990's, but a few older works are cited as appropriate.
Therefore, this review provides a perspective that emphasizes and summarizes
relatively recent research.

The book is organized logically into three parts. Part one is an overview
of the basic properties of wetlands where definitions, functions and wetland
classification (chapter 1), zonation and succession (chapter 2) and diversity
(chapter 3) are presented. Part two (chapters 4-9) treats the ecological
factors controlling these wetland properties. This section is where crucial
topics such as hydrology, disturbance and competition are discussed. The
third part (chapters 10-12) provides a look into the future of wetlands
with insightful discussions of wetland restoration and conservation.

The wetland overview is superb. First, a concise definition of wetlands
is given that emphasizes both ecological and evolutionary aspects. This
practical definition is then compared to various legal definitions in an
interesting manner that discloses the author's distaste for unnecessary
"word play". This short encounter clearly sets the mood for the rest of
the book which presents all topics in a practical, no-nonsense manner.
This common sense approach is soon again evident in the discussion of wetland
classification which presents six "basic types" (swamp, marsh, bog, fen,
wet meadow, shallow water) in preference over systems that emphasize locational
rather than functional equivalency (e.g., the widely used Cowardin system),
or the finely graded hierarchical European "-etum" systems that "...detracts
from more important work, and at worst, simply creates confusion by distorting
plant names and making work in wetlands obscure to all but a narrow group
of experts." I've often felt the same way, but I'm glad that somebody else
has come out and said it. I particularly liked the section on adaptations
to flooding which is categorized as "the primary constraint". This is not
just a token addition, but represents about 18 pages devoted to an excellent
overview of the subject. The section on wetland functions is also effectively
summarized with good examples. Here you will discover many things about
wetland functions including how much Potamogeton is found in turtle
stomachs and the emission rate of methane from bogs. Part one concludes
with a grim description of threats to the Pantanal, one of earth's largest
wetlands. These two pages compel the reader to finish the book in order
to learn what should and can be done to avert such dire environmental consequences
through wise management strategies.

The first part concludes with a description of biotic and abiotic factors
contributing to zonation and succession. Relevant models and theory are
reviewed and the role of competition is emphasized using examples from
quantitative empirical studies. Next follows a section on wetland biodiversity,
the factors controlling it, biomass and conservation of diversity. Suffice
to say that this section also presents a remarkably succinct yet insightful
overview.

The second part of the book comprises essential ecological topics, i.e.
those factors controlling wetland properties. This part begins with hydrology
using examples ranging from rivers to potholes and peatlands. The importance
of hydrology as the controlling force in wetland characteristics is emphasized
by analogy to fire as a controlling agent for forest characteristics. Wetland
fertility is then explored as a second key controlling factor. The disturbance
chapter nicely weaves a transition between properties and examples of disturbance,
seed bank regeneration and gap dynamics. The section on competition was
surprisingly brief (only 35 pp.), but does successfully present a rather
complete overview of how one tests for competition (said to be "a ubiquitous
process in wetland plant communities") and how various constraints operate
on competition.

The last quarter or so of the book is devoted to wetland restoration
and conservation. Here, Keddy encourages the reader to proceed beyond simply
realizing "how the patterns and species in wetlands are produced by multiple
environmental factors acting simultaneously" and to learn how to effectively
manage wetland systems using this knowledge. His emphasis is on the application
of assembly rules where principles of evolutionary ecology are applied
to determine how species with particular traits will pass through various
environmental filters. Thus, there is a logical transition here from the
filters (most notably hydrology, fertility, salinity and disturbance) which
are discussed in the second part of the book, and the application of their
understanding to wetland restoration. Keddy also recommends adoption of
a functional approach to simplify the complex ecological interactions that
occur in wetlands. His description of how this goal may be achieved points
to much needed research in this area.

The book concludes with a chapter on wetland conservation and again
conveys a surprising amount of insightful information in relatively few
pages. The emphasis is on the formulation of priorities and the assessment
of performance in meeting conservation goals. As already stated on the
back cover of the book ("Advance praise for Wetland Ecology" by M. Bertness),
this is "the best treatment yet available". I agree.

After reading this book, you will feel as though you have been infused
with information from several volumes rather than just one. I was impressed
by the remarkable way that Keddy conveyed essential information without
a lot of unnecessary detail or superfluity. As a result, most people with
an appropriate background should be able to gain an outstanding grasp of
modern wetland ecology, within just a few short days of easy reading. Certainly,
this aspect will make Wetland Ecology an outstanding textbook, and
it certainly should be considered by everyone who teaches a course in this
area. - Donald H. Les, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary
Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3043.

African
Traditional Medicine: A Dictionary of Plant Use and Applications. Neuwinger,
H.D. 2000. ISBN 3-88763-086-6 (Cloth DM 198) 589 pp. Medpharm GmbH Scientific
Publishers, Birkenwaldstrasse 44, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany. - Indigenous
and local peoples, especially in Africa, hold significant levels of knowledge
about their lands and resources, little known to the rest of the world.
African Traditional Medicine is a compendium that bears a comprehensive
and magnificent witness to the perspectives of traditional people about
healing practices with plants.

The author asserts, in the first sentence of his introduction, that
this book is purely a reference book. Plants are arranged alphabetically
by their scientific names. All the important medicinal plants and most
of those of only local use or minor importance are included. However, information
about active principles has been consistently omitted: that is not the
purpose of this book.

This dictionary, the first of its kind, seems to be reasonably inclusive,
as far as the number of species covered. The sources consulted to prepare
this compilation are primarily scientific journal entries and monographs.
The literature cited draws upon most of the standard reference works. Neuwinger
points out that many of the written texts he cites exist in limited editions
and are difficult to find outside Africa. He commended, particularly, the
excellent research of Adjanohoun, Aké Assi and their collaborators
on indigenous plants in the French-speaking countries of West Africa. Published
sources are supplemented occasionally, but not consistently, with information
from herbarium labels.

Neuwinger conceived of this reference work mainly for scientists working
the fields of phytochemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry, searching for
medicinally active plants for further research. It will certainly be of
interest to botanists, anthropologists and ethnobotanists.

Inevitably any work of this magnitude will have small flaws. Several
citations within a botanical entry are missing from the list of references.
It would be helpful to add volume and page numbers to each author's name
in the body of the text, to assist the reader to retrieve the citation.
As it stands now, the author's name alone is given, while the References
sometimes cite multiple entries, and the user cannot distinguish the correct
one without checking each record. This can be a serious problem especially
in the event that a user wants to request a citation by interlibrary loan,
if the sources are not available locally.

At current exchange rate of $1=2.27 DM, the price of the book seems
quite reasonable. It is well bound for long-term use, and has a comfortable
size. Bound separately, there is a supplemental pamphlet called

Domestication of
Plants in the Old World. (3rd ed) Zohary, Daniel and Maria Hopf. 2001.
ISBN 0-19-850357-1 (Cloth US$75.00) ISBN 0-19-850356-3. (Paper US$34.95)
316pp. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314.
- Domestication of Plants in the Old World provides a review of the origin
and the spread of cultivated plants in southwest Asia, Europe and Africa
north of the Sahara, the classical `Old World'. The aim is to trace plant
domestication and crop plant evolution from its early beginnings up to
classical times.

The context from which this book emerged is stated in the preface to
1st edition: Southwest Asia, Europe and the Nile valley are unique today
for the vast extent of archaeo-botanical exploration. Hundreds of Mesolithic,
Neolithic and Bronze Age sites have been excavated. Plant remains in many
sites have been expertly identified, culturally associated, and radiocarbon-dated,
and the finds have given critical information on the plants that started
agriculture in this part of the world.

Considerable progress has also been achieved in field of wild ancestry
of Old World crops. The wild progenitors of most cultivated plants have
now been satisfactorily identified, both by comparative morphology and
by genetic analyses. The distribution and ecological ranges of the wild
relatives have been established, and comparisons between wild types and
their cultivated counterparts have revealed the evolutionary changes that
were brought about by domestication.

As a result of these achievements, SW Asia, Europe and Egypt emerge
as the first major geographic area in the world in which the combined evidence
from archaeology and the living plants permits a modern synthesis of crop
plant evolution. This book presents that record.

The authors are preeminently qualified to this task. Daniel Zohary,
professor emeritus from the Department of Evolution Systematics and Ecology,
Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Maria Hopf, formerly head of the botany
department, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz, have devoted
their careers to these questions. Hence this is the most thoroughly researched
text addressing crucial questions about origins of agriculture in the Near
East: defining a crop's progenitor, and evidence central to domestication.
Zohary and Hopf have taken time to analyze data and results from field,
greenhouse and laboratory research in preparing their summaries of each
crop species.

The book opens with a brief discussion about sources of evidence for
the origin and spread of cultivated plants. Table 1 [p. 2] outlines these
sources succinctly. Thereafter, the treatment is crop by crop, arranged
by type: cereals, pulses, oil and fibre crops, fruit trees and nuts, vegetables
and tubers, condiments, dye crops. The final chapter consists of a valuable
review of plant remains in representative archaeological sites, arranged
by country. As knowledge on collection from the wild has increased substantially
in the lasts few years, the chapter on `Fruit collected from the wild'
that appeared in the earlier editions was omitted here, because the authors
felt that that subject deserves to be treated separately.

This 3rd edition substantially updates the previous editions, [2nd edition
1994; 1st edition 1988] by consideration of new information from sources
such as the `Harlan Symposium', The Origins of Agriculture and Crop Domestication,
held in May 1997 at ICARDA headquarters in Tell Hadya, Syria. Also worthy
of note is their modification of their text discussing evidence from Harappa,
to include sesame.

Zohary and Hopf have accepted the subject of the Indian origin of sesame,
after thorough examination of the evidence, despite the fact that many
authors continue to publish verbatim, the views of Purseglove [1962] and
other out-of-date sources. Fuller's [2000] most important review: Fifty
years of archaeobotanical studies in India,
cited here, brings the readers up to date with an appraisal of the
evidence.

Any work of this magnitude is bound to have a few slips. I could not
find the citation to one of the sources on page 141 in the References.
The index is brief, and misses several mentions of their keywords that
are found in the text, a loss of some information. But these are picky
details. Overall, this book is a masterpiece, well illustrated with photographs,
line drawings and maps. The 45-page bibliography is a treasure house of
information. It is worth every penny of the price, and belongs in the libraries
of botanists, anthropologists, geographers, and every university. - Dorothea
Bedigian Biology Department, Washington University, St. Louis, MO.

Roadside Use of Native Plants.
Bonnie Harper-Lore and Maggie Wilson, eds. 2000. ISBN 1-55963-837-0. (
paper, $25.) 665 pp. Island Press, P.O.Box 7, Covelo, CA 95428. - This
is a facsimile edition of a publication (FHWA-EP-99-014) by the U.S. Department
of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 1999. It is well that
Island Press has made this publication more widely and easily available.
I know because last year as librarian for the New England Wild Flower Society
I had tried to obtain it and failed. In fact, then, even knowing of its
existence was dependent on seeing a chance citation. The authors are well
qualified. Bonnie Harper-Lore is a vegetation specialist for the Federal
Highway Administration and Maggie Wilson is a biologist for the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. They have compiled a great deal of scattered information
on the subject to produce this very useful handbook.

As John Kartesz writes in his preface, over the past decades the philosophy
of roadside maintenance has changed drastically from maintaining a front
lawn appearance, labor intensive and requiring use of herbicides, to a
more reasonable aesthetic and ecological approach. As early as the 1930's
in Illinois a group known as Friends of the Native Landscape was formed
under Jens Jensen a noted Midwestern landscape architect. They approached
the Illinois Department of Highways with ideas. In 1936 Jesse M. Bennett
wrote Roadsides, the Front Yard of the Nation in which he urged that states
aim to approach a natural condition in their roadside landscaping. Texas
adopted this approach early on. In 1965 The Highway Beautification Act
was passed under Ladybird Johnson's influence. In 1969 The National Environmental
Policy Act encouraged "environmentally sensitive solutions" to highway
landscaping. In 1987 the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation
Assistance Act included "the requirement to plant native wildflowers with
1/4 of1% of a highway project's landscape budget when federal funds are
used."

The authors note that in spite of the STURAA Act of 1987, by 1994 only
38 states had program level support for native wildflowers. In 1998 the
government issued revised and extended guidelines for the native wildflower
planting requirement of the 1987 Act. Old and new policy stated that at
least one quarter of one percent of funds expended for landscaping must
include wildflowers. This established a minimum but states were encouraged
always to include more native plants in their highway landscaping efforts.
The efforts of "Operation Wildflower" a program developed in the early
1970's by the National Council of State Garden Clubs in cooperation with
State highway agencies were still welcomed. In 1994 President Clinton issued
an Executive Memorandum on "environmentally and economically beneficial
landscaping." Finally in 1999, in recognition of the growing importance
of controlling invasive species that might be used in the above planting
requirements, President Clinton issued an Executive Order calling for a
National Invasive Species Council and increased communication between all
agencies concerning wildflower plantings.

Some states with good native plant highway programs are Texas, Iowa,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Utah, Oregon and Florida. As noted above
in 1994 only 38 states had good programs. But the list continues to grow.
On July 27, 2001, the Christian Science Monitor had an article "Let it
grow? Arkansas debates roadside vegetation." The 1998 guidance revisions
for the STURAA Act of 1987 were published to encourage more states to work
out programs and this Federal Highway Administration publication, Roadside
Use of Native Plants followed in 1999 to give more hands-on information
and practical suggestions for highway planners and project managers in
all states.

The book starts with18 essays on "Roadside Restoration and Management."
Most important perhaps is the definition of a native plant as accepted
in this legislation. "A native plant species is one `that occurs naturally
in a particular region, state, ecosystem, and habitat without direct or
indirect human actions'." In "What is Native" Larry Morse of the Nature
Conservancy elaborates on this definition. Other essays are on "Preserving
Roadside habitats…," various aspects of plant communities, various management
tools, and finally "Introducing a Roadside Land Ethic" .

The bulk of the book contains state-by-state comprehensive lists of
native plants for landscape use including ferns, grasses, forbs, shrubs,
and trees. Maria Urice of the National Wildflower Research Center in Texas
compiled these, quite an undertaking. The only other such lists that I
have seen are those in the Landscape Restoration Handbook by Donald A.
Harker, Lewis Press. They are regional and not as lengthy. A black and
white map of potential natural vegetation zones accompanies each state.
These are adapted from A. W. Kuchler's Potential Natural Vegetation Map,
1964, revised 1985 and printed in the U. S. Geological Survey's National
Atlas of the U.S. The maps are reproduced again in the center of the book,
this time in color. This is the first time that I have seen such extensive
use of these interesting and informative maps. Kuchler's vegetation zones
are shown and the dominant plant species in each zone are listed in Appendix
B. Finally the state listed federally endangered species are given. Other
resources given for each state include recommended floras, botanical experts
to contact, and organizations: the Natural Heritage office, The Nature
Conservancy field office, the state native plant society if there is one,
similar associations, and botanical gardens or arboreta; contact botanists
at the state university; for information on weeds and invasive plants the
local state department of Agriculture. The organization addresses and contact
personnel names are as up-to-date as is possible and the resource lists
are very complete. For example at the New England Wild Flower Society I
have maintained for years a comprehensive list of native plant societies.
I added two new ones from this book. Appendices include text and discussion
of the legislation mentioned above. There is a description and discussion
of The American Treeways Initiative, started in 1992. This is a lesser-known
program. I would like to have seen more information on Operation Wildflower
with contact addresses, and a contact address in each state for the state
highway administration and the local Federal Highway Administration office.
This is the only type of resource information I found lacking.

Roadside Use of Native Plants is a handbook that gathers together information
on the subject from many scattered sources and aims to give, to any organization
or person needing it, help in making site-specific decisions affecting
wildflower or native plant planting programs along American highways. Hopefully
it will encourage more of such work at the state as well as at the federal
level. - Mary M. Walker, librarian emeritus, New England Wild Flower Society,
Framingham, MA 01701.

The Ghosts
of Evolution: Nonsensical Fruit, Missing Partners, and other Ecological
Anachronisms. Barlow, Connie. 2001. ISBN 0-465-00551-9 (Paper US$26.00)
224 pp. Basic Books, 10 East 52nd St., New York, NY 10025. -
Connie Barlow's newest work of popular science non-fiction is a paean to
the megafaunal dispersal syndrome, a theory that invokes the selective
pressures of large, extinct herbivores to explain "overbuilt", seemingly
non-adaptive plant morphologies, such as massive, non-dispersible fruit
[see D. H. Janzen and P. S. Martin, Science 215: 19 (1982)]. Accordingly,
her exploration of this theory is not a critical analysis but a well-referenced
description of it. She states her apparent mission at the end of the first
chapter by saying, "Adaptive just-so stories are sometimes a more prudent
response to an evolutionary puzzle than to throw one's hands up…Sometimes
it is prudent to hypothesize that the trait in question is, at least to
some degree, anachronistic, and then to search for missing partners." In
ten chapters, Barlow investigates the possible origins of non-adaptive
traits in plants with reference to primary literature, personal interviews
with well-respected botanists and paleontologists and her own informal
experiments. Both Drs. Janzen and Martin critically reviewed the manuscript.
Multiple line drawings and photographs illustrate the text, although they
were not included in the advance uncorrected proof used for this review.

The breadth of examples used by the author is laudable for its coverage
of both temperate and tropical plants. This makes her subject matter relevant
or at least familiar to a wide audience. For example, Ms. Barlow writes
in depth about the distribution, life history and fruit dispersal characteristics
of Gleditsiatriacanthos and Gymnocladus dioica but
also those of Cresentiaalata and Balaniteswilsoniana,
to name a few. Combined with her descriptions of botanical anachronisms
are summaries of published studies concerning herbivore food choice and
migratory behavior. Included, and much appreciated by this botanist/correspondent,
is a primer on the differing digestive physiologies of mammalian herbivores.
She highlights her esoteric journey through botany and zoology with a variety
of tangentially related gems such as the advantages of camel ranching and
the possible origin of human geophagy. The author's writing style reflects
an openly anthropomorphic view of natural history; although this may help
her readers empathize with her ultimate motive for writing the book.

Her motive, of course, is not to chronicle odd plant traits or their
possible culprits; it is to illustrate the powerful idea that extinction
is followed by the loss of ecological balance. The author devotes the last
two chapters drawing connections between the ecological consequences of
past extinctions and the current, accelerated rate of species extinctions
due to human activity. However, the equally important converse of this
thesis may be lost on a general pop-science audience due to the author's
failure to rigorously explain what evolution actually is. She outlines
evolution in one paragraph in the second chapter and justifies using teleological
language in later discussions of evolution by suggesting, "We all know
what we mean." This offhand claim is presumptuous. Without an adequate
explanation of the role of random variation and natural selection in evolution,
she can never fully describe the sobering difference between the
Pleistocene extinction and the present day one: that in our rapidly changing
world individual species have very little time to respond to selection
and, therefore, are more prone to dying off. Despite this shortcoming,
Barlow's new work tills fertile ground for pop-science fans and plant lovers
alike. - Andrea Weeks, Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas.

Breeding Ornamental Plants.
Dorothy J. Callaway and M. Brett Callaway (eds). Timber Press 2000. ISBN
0-88192-482-2. 323 pages. - Many gardeners or plant enthusiasts become
so enamored with a group of plants they have grown successfully and with
pleasure that they begin to think seriously about breeding the perfect
variety or cultivar themselves. It is for this audience that Breeding Ornamental
Plants is intended. It contains information on fifteen different groups
of ornamental plants: African violets, amaryllis, ornamental aroids, daffodils,
daylilies, gesneriads, hostas, kalmias, lilacs, magnolias, oaks, penstemons,
rhododendrons and azaleas, Siberian irises. While it is hard to imagine
that any one person will be deeply interested in breeding more than one
of these groups, it is helpful to have introductory information about all
in one single volume.

In one of two introductory chapters the essential basics of plant breeding
genetics (Mendelian) and polyploidy are explained at a level intended to
enhance the confidence of amateurs who undertake a breeding program. A
second introductory chapter deals with practical matters such as how to
plan a crossing program and emphasizes the importance of keeping good records.
In a section I found especially interesting, the rules of naming and the
increasingly complicated issues of plant patents and trademarks of daylilies
was reviewed.

For each group of plants, experienced breeders were asked to address
the important traits and breeding objectives, hybridization mechanics and
propagation. The amount of detail and general readability of the chapters
is variable. For some groups a long history of the breeding of the group
is provided while for others such as penstemons and oaks, history remains
to be made. The detailed mechanics of crossing the individual plants is
made clear for all groups, though some previous familiarity with the plants
involved may be helpful to understanding the specifics. A strength of the
book is the detailed list of resources at the end of each chapter. This
includes important collections, suppliers, registration authorities and
plant societies as well as references to the literature. Addresses, phone
numbers and website addresses should be more than enough to get a neophyte
started. This book would be a useful reference for anyone who decides to
embark on the adventure of plant breeding. - Joanne M. Sharpe, Coastal
Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, ME 04537.

Trees: Their Natural History.
Peter Thomas, 2000. ISBN 0-521-45963 (paper $24.95). 286 pp. Cambridge
University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2, 2RU, United Kingdom.
- Trees are common, woody plants that enhance and beautify landscapes.
They are essential to many ecosystems and provide humans with lumber, pulp,
paper, cork, fuel, fabrics, spices, dyes, and drugs as well as symbolic
and commemorative uses (Christmas trees). Yet many of us are not very familiar
with their modular makeup, function, reproductive strategies, growth forms
and defense mechanisms? Peter Thomas' book attempts to bridge that knowledge
gap by providing a comprehensive overview about how trees grow, die and
cope with their surroundings.

This book focuses on the two largest groups of trees, the conifers and
dicotyledons, although other trees belonging to the gymnosperms (Ginkgo,
Gnetum and cycads) and monocotyledons (palms, Joshua tree) are discussed.
Throughout the text, Thomas commonly cites examples of trees that grow
in England, but he also refers to other tree species from around the world
including tropical rainforests of the Amazon, African savannas, pine forests
of Canada, and temperate areas of North America. The numerous examples
with reference to England are probably related to his teaching and research
experience at Keele University in the United Kingdom.

The book is well organized and divided into nine chapters. Thomas begins
with a brief account of trees treating such aspects as their appearance
in the geologic record, their value to humans and how they differ from
animals. The next three chapters give a general account of the modular
makeup of trees with chapter two addressing the anatomy, function and variability
of leaves. Chapter three discusses woody skeletons and barks of trunks
and branches, and chapter four discusses types of roots and how they contribute
to growth and health. These chapters are filled with fun, interesting,
and valuable facts that are often excluded from typical botanical textbooks.
For example, Thomas describes how roots of oaks and poplars can rapidly
expand laterally, absorb water quickly, and cause ground subsidence and
building damage in urban areas if the soil happens to be clay rich. Interesting
and humorous analogies are commonly used throughout these chapters. For
example, 1) pillar roots of a strangler fig are compared to a boa constrictor
slowly killing its host, 2) the hydraulic architectures of trees are related
to children sucking different size straws in competion for a drink, and
3) new leaf growth, stimulating senescence of older leaves in evergreen
species, is compared to older tenants who don't pay their rent.

Chapters 5 through 9 relate to reproductive strategies, growth, and
defense of trees. Flower pollination, the development of fruit, and seed
dispersal are main topics of chapter 5. Special attention is given to when
and how often mast years can occur for various trees and why wind pollination
is more common for trees that grow in temperate forests than in tropical
forests. Chapters 6 and 7 pertain to the growing tree and tree shapes.
Topics include growth
rates, factors that limit tree size, phenology, the importance of dendrochronology
and how tree shape changes with age. Strategies associated with seed dormancy,
size and germination represent the themes of Chapter 8. The concluding
chapter relates strategies used by trees in defense against fungal attacks,
herbivory, cold, heat, wind and pollution. One interesting section explains
how giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendrongiganteum) of western
North America withstand and survive the heat of great forest fires whereas
other trees including American beech trees (Fagusgrandifolia)
readily succumb to fires.

Throughout the text, Thomas presents informative tables, clear photographs
and detailed illustrations. Each chapter concludes with a valuable list
of references (most from the 1990's). The book also contains a useful index
that adds to its value as a reference. This text, however, could not be
used as a field guide because it lacks needed color photographs, paragraph
descriptions, and familial references to genera and species of trees.

Written for the layman, this book is somewhat rigorous in its treatment.
A background course in general botany would be helpful in understanding
many concepts and terms that are discussed throughout the text. Many students,
faculty and researchers in the fields of forestry, horticulture, botany
and environmental science will find this book to be a worthy addition to
their reference collection. For me, I also intend to illustrate my botany
lectures with enlightening examples borrowed from this text. _ Nina L.
Baghai-Riding, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Delta
State University, Cleveland, MS 38733

Aroids: Plants
of the Arum Family, 2nd ed. Brown, Deni. 2000. ISBN
0-88192-485-7 (Cloth US$34.95) 392 pp. Timber Press, Inc., 133 S.W> Second
Avenue, Suite 450, Portland, OR 97204-3527. _ "Aroids" flys far above many
academically oriented books. Many such works are full of turgid prose,
and even if the subject falls in the reader's area of specialty, reading
can be a chore. Instead, this book breezes through genus after genus, presenting
a thorough review of the latest information on this important family.

Aroids is a refreshing exception to the rule in part because of its
structure. Written with an easy flow and packed with fascinating and useful
facts, this book reviews the family Araceae, the family of skunk cabbage
and Amorphophallus, jack-in-the-pulpit and philodendron. With the wide
variation for many different characters present in the Araceae, and given
the number of genera with which the author deals, the reader might be easily
overwhelmed. However, the author skillfully breaks the chapters into sections
of no more than a few pages, dealing with no more than two or three genera
per section and usually only one.

The overall structure of the book is simple, as an introduction to aroids
whets the reader's appetite, leading to a chapter on details of the fascinating
reproductive methods of the Araceae. Then, the family is considered according
to habitat, including various types such as woodland, aquatic, and arid
areas, with the genera found in each area considered. Taxonomic details
are included, e.g. tribal associations, though the book remains quite readable
even through the more technical paragraphs. Along the way, interesting
points abound, such as consideration of the wide range of odors, from rotting
flesh to mint, and the variation in floral details, from the minute duckweeds
to the anus-mimicking Heicodiceros muscivorus, or dead horse arum. The
Titan arums receive their own chapter, followed by considerations of aroids
as food and the toxicity of various species, this family including many
toxic members. Finally, appendices consider aroids in cultivation and then
give a checklist of the genera of the Araceae and a good glossary and set
of references.

This second edition takes into account the many taxonomic revisions
and discoveries which have taken place in the twelve years since the first
edition. Interestingly, with the taxonomic revisions of the last decade,
the Araceae now includes the largest- and smallest-flowered plants that
are known. This family has long contained the largest-flowered plant, tropical
giant Amorphophallus titanarum, so often trumpeted on the news when a rare
bloom opens in a botanical garden. Now, the Lemnaceae has been reunited
to the Araceae, 100 years after they were first split. Wolffia, the world's
smallest flowering genus containing the smallest-flowered plant is again
in the fold.

Aroids Plants of the Arum Family is a wonderful book for anyone who
wants to delve into this family, and it belongs in any college or university
library. Any amateur interested in plants, not just those who are amateur
botanists, will find this book hard to close. Those who teach botany will
find a wealth of facts to entertain and excite students, along with a useful
source of information for explaining Amorphophallus the next time that
it makes the news. Buy a copy today. _ Douglas Darnowski, Department of
Biology, Washington College, Chesterton, MD 21620.

The European Garden
Flora. Volume VI. Edited by The European Garden Flora Editorial Committee.
2000. ISBN 0-521-42097-0 (hardcover US$175.00) 739 pp. Cambridge University
Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA.-The
European Garden Flora (1984-2000) is a monumental manual for the identification
of cultivated ornamental species, and many hybrids, in 242 families of
angiosperms. About 25,000 species are included. This concluding volume
presents accounts of 38 families of dicotyledons, including the largest
family of flowering plants, Compositae (with 190 out of 1530 genera included).
Other horticulturally important families covered by this volume are Acanthaceae,
Apocynaceae, Bignoniaceae, Boraginaceae, Buddlejaceae, Campanulaceae, Caprifoliaceae,
Convolvulaceae, Gentianaceae, Labiatae, Rubiaceae, Scrophulariace, Solanaceae,
and Verbenaceae. This volume also contains a key to all dicotyledonous
families of ornamental plants cultivated in the temperate regions.

Based on my experience with this volume and previous ones, the identification
keys are excellent, and while the species descriptions are short, they
are sufficient and accurate. How useful is this European Flora in North
America? Just a random sample: Three out of four Vitex species listed
in McClintock & Leider (1979) and Meyer et al. (1993) are here.
As listed in the same sources, all four species of Catalpa, all
four speciesof Coprosma and all six species of Cestrum
are here. Four out of seven species of Clerodendrum, one out of
two Lycium, 11 out of 13 Buddleja, and 20 out of 22 Lonicera
species are in the Flora. Conclusion: The European Garden Flora is useful
even in North America. Nevertheless, other sources should be consulted
as well, especially in the southern states.

I have only two complaints. The first is a shortage of illustrations
(only 44 figures in this volume). To some extent, many references made
to published illustrations compensate for this weakness. The second is
the absence of references to the degree of naturalization or invasiveness
of species like Buddleja davidii, Calystegia pulchra, Lonicera japonica,
Rudbeckia laciniata, Solidago gigantea, Tragopogon porrifolius, or
Vinca
major (see Clement & Foster, 1994). However, these are just minor
problems. This manual is a milestone that will provide a wealth of taxonomic
and practical information for decades to come. _ Marcel Rejmánek,
Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.

Literature Cited

Clement, E.J. and Foster, M.C. 1994. Alien Plants of the British Isles.
Botanical Society of the British Isles, London.

McClintock, E. and Leider, A.T. 1979. An Annotated Checklist of Woody
Ornamental Plants of California, Oregon, and Washington. Division of Agricultural
Sciences, University of California, Berkeley.

Meyer, F.G., Mazzeo, P.M. and Voss, D.H. 1993. A Catalog of Cultivated
Woody Plants of the Southeastern United States. U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Agricultural Research Service, U.S. National Arboretum Contribution No.
7.

Wildflowers of the Fairest
Cape. Peter Goldblatt and John Manning. 2000. ISBN 0-620-24787-8 (paper
US$34.95) 316 pp. Timber Pre3ss, 133 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland,
OR 97204-3527. "Wildflowers…" stuns the reader, presenting an almost-bewildering
profusion of brightly colored wildflowers from western half of the Cape
Floral Kingdom. The Cape Floral Kingdom is of course the smallest of the
floral kingdoms, but like the southwest of Western Australia, it has very
high rates of endemism. Both of those areas also share Mediterranean climates,
a profusion of shrubs, and the presence of some families, such as the Proteaceae.

The authors begin by describing the various regions within the Cape
Botanical Province, followed by an excellent table that indicates the months
that are best for viewing wildflowers in different areas. These regional
descriptions are brief but interesting, allowing the reader to form a reasonable
picture of local vegetation. The authors then present a very large number
of excellent photographs of various species of wildflowers, preceded by
a simple key to families.

With the very large number of species present in the area considered,
the authors have to limit the total number of plants pictured. Since the
vibrant colors of the flowers are also shown, that is a further limitation—the
cost of producing such a book is high, even when limiting the number of
species shown.

For example, the Roridulaceae is omitted. The plants are subcarnivorous,
trapping insects but obtaining nutrients from their prey via the feces
of other insects. This family, known only from South Africa, contains two
species, one of which grows near Hermanus in the general area covered by
Wildflowers of Fairest Cape (Gibson R, 1999, Flora and Veldt, 85: 189).
Its inclusion, since this is an unusual family with a fascinating ecological
story, would have been more appropriate, even if that meant omitting instead
one member of an already well illustrated family.

At the end of the text and before the Index is a section in which the
families that are represented are described along with each illustrated
species from that family. The species are helpfully numbered for ready
access to their pictures in the main body of the book. More information
in each description would be helpful, though the length of the descriptions
is understandable given the goal of illustrating the range of species and
the cost of producing such a book with so many photographs.

One annoying point is the lack of the family name on pages other than
the first page mentioning that family. Some families occupy a number of
pages, and confusion may result with genera with which the reader is not
immediately familiar.

In spite of any small flaws, Wildflowers of the Fairest Cape would make
an excellent addition to any professional library, and the gorgeous photographs
would be a useful tool for exciting students about plants in general, areas
of endemism, and certain unusual species. For example, in the Cape Kingdom
grows Disa uniflora, an orchid whose seeds are notable for germinating
without tissue culture or fungal symbionts. All college and university
libraries should have a copy, and anyone intending to visit South Africa,
especially if they intend to see wildflowers, would do well to use this
valuable resource. It will complement two other works of recent years,
Peter Thompson's more horticultural The Looking Glass Garden (Timber Press)
and, illustrating fewer species but with more information on particular
areas, Colin Paterson-Jones' The Cape Floral Kingdom (New Holland). _ Douglas
Darnowski, Washington College. Chesterton, MD 21620.

Succulent Flora of Southern
Africa. Court, Doreen. 2000 ISBN 90-5809-323-9 (cloth EUR75.00) 300
pp A.A. Balkema B.V., Postbus 1675, 3000 BR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- Doreen Court's revised edition of her 1981 original text is a solid improvement.
The original text was already a classic in the realm of succulent books,
and this revision is a much-anticipated update. This expanded revision
has several notable additions: newer maps that reflect the reorganization
of South Africa's provinces, better graphics and photographic plates, and
a more scientific approach to the systematics of the families included.
An example of the latter can be found in Chapter 2 (Portulacaceae), in
which Ms. Court summarizes recent research on the genus Anacampseros
while not favoring one argument or the other. This approach is found throughout
the text, and gives the reader a balanced view of the different perspectives
of the researchers involved in these genera.

The author covers members of the families Mesembryanthemaceae sensu
Ihlenfeldt and Straka, Portulacaceae, Crassulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Apocynaceae,
Passifloraceae, Stapelieae, and Aloaceae. For each chapter, Ms. Court provides
a synopsis of recent work in the systematics of each, either by information
gathered through personal communications with researchers or by using recently
published articles. These synopses are more than adequate for the casual
reader, but academic researchers may want a bit more detail; for example,
the systematics of Aloaceae (Chapter 7) has been heavily researched in
the last decade by authors such as Van Jaarsveld, Reynolds, and Viljoen,
but these authors are not mentioned.

This revised text includes a very thorough tour of the major succulent
families found in southern Africa. The author does state in the preface
that the goal of this text is to cover those families in which the majority
of genera are succulents rather than those families with only a few succulent
genera, and that goal is achieved. If this text has one weakness, it is
that exclusion of those several other families with notable succulent members
present in southern Africa, such as Senecio (Asteraceae) and Pelargonium
(Geraniaceae).

Overall, this text is a large step in the Researchers with a particular
interest in the genera examined in this text may not always agree with
Ms. Court's presentation of the material, but no one can deny that this
text is a much needed breath of fresh air, and that it should be on the
bookshelves of succulent plant lovers everywhere, whether academic or otherwise.
_ Vic Landrum, Department of Biology, Washburn University, Topeka, KS 66621.

Trees of Indiana. Wampler, F. (paintings
by M. Wampler). 2000. ISBN 0-253-32885-3 (hardcover US$ 49.05) xxiv + 152
pp. (incl. 72 plates). Indiana University Press, 601 North Morton Street,
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 (www.indiana.edu/~iupress) — This is
a coffee table book of watercolors of trees native to Indiana, along with
accompanying text. Seventy two 2-page spreads treat 84 of the more than
150 tree species native to the state. Most of the trees covered are common
ones in Indiana statewide or regionally, but some interesting rarities,
like the spectacular yellowwood (Cladrastis lutea), are also included.
Each plate emphasizes a single species, but 11 of them also include a visual
detail and a little text on a related species as well (with 2 extra hickories
on plate 24). Each spread consists of a painting of an open grown tree
in an Indiana landscape and detailed paintings of leaves, twigs, flowers,
and fruits. Most of the time the habit painting occupies a whole page while
the details share the facing page with the text, but in 20 plates the details
have the large format and the habit shrinks to leave room for the text.

The paintings of details are generally superb, and it is worth getting
the book for these by themselves. I am not so enamored of the habit paintings,
although they are pretty, with their varied coloration due to the seasons
and stages of phenology portrayed. However, they mostly just look like
big, round, open-grown trees with a certain fuzziness that precludes getting
a real sense of the foliage. None of them have the crispness of the detailed
paintings which are, in fact, botanical art of the quality emphasized by
the Hunt Institute, the Missouri Botanical Garden, or the Royal Botanic
Garden, Kew, among others. The habit paintings, on the other hand, also
disappoint because, with a few exceptions like the paper birch, there is
no real impression of the distinctive barks of the different species. Nonetheless,
they do provide visual appeal and a reasonable feeling for the appearance
of the tree in the landscape.

The text accompanying the plates ranges from about 500 to 700 words.
It is well written in plain language that accurately describes a wide range
of characteristics of each species and enhances interest in them. Surprisingly,
perhaps, there is little information presented on the distributions and
habitats of these trees in Indiana specifically, for which the reader can
turn to Charles Deam's Trees of Indiana (3rd edition,
1953), or to tree books with a wider geographical coverage. Most of the
species presented here, of course, are widely distributed and common across
temperate eastern North America. That holds for many hawthorns (Crataegus)
and serviceberries (Amelanchier) also, but these two genera, as
is so often the case with Crataegus in tree books, are each given
a generic entry without reference to any particular species. Yet the paintings
are made from collected material. In the case of the serviceberry, if the
detail paintings were made from a tree form like the one in the habit painting,
they can only be A. arborea. The hawthorns are harder but it would
have been possible to choose one of the distinctive species, like C.
crus-galli or C. punctata to paint.

Since very few tree books do justice to Crataegus, the fact that
this one doesn't is of little moment. It is, after all, a selection, and
a good one, of the common trees of Indiana. It can be enjoyed for its lively
text, evocative paintings of trees in the landscape, and very impressive
portrayal of botanical characters in the elegant detail paintings. — James
E. Eckenwalder, Department of Botany, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks
St., Toronto, Ont. M5S 3B2.

The
Multimedia Toolkit for Educators in the Plant Sciences CD-ROM. Clayton,
Mike. ($100.00 US). Order online (www.wisc.edu/botany/)
or by mail: the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Botany,
Attn: Mike Clayton, 430 Lincoln Dr., Madison, WI 53706, USA. - One stop
shopping. This CD provides the complete set of tools (images and content-files
in computer ready format) needed to quickly and fully develop the laboratory
materials, needed for an introductory botany course. This CD includes a
teaching-reference collection of 1,900 images (JPEG) illustrating the full
range of topics (Cyanobacteria to Angiosperm) presented in a botany course
(both lecture and lab). Though many of the images and files included on
this CD (603.5MB for 6,218 items) were developed to support an introductory
course at the University of Wisconsin (BOT 130, General Botany). These
computer-ready materials can be easily adapted for use in a variety of
plant biology courses "stressing evolutionary sequences and the relationship
between structure and function at succeeding levels of organization: molecule,
cell, organism, population, community" (undergraduate catalog, University
of Wisconsin).

This CD also includes a prepared laboratory manual presenting 25 separate
topics, from Plant Morphology and Tree Identification (Topic 1) to Fruits
and Root, Stem and Leaf Adaptations (Topic 25). These laboratory handouts
may be printed and duplicated for your student's use. In addition, a set
of web-based lessons that can be added to your own course's web-page, and
"interactive slides" (ex. the stages of meiosis) that you can use "as is"
or "as models" for your own interactive course materials are included.
More importantly, both the lab manual and the web-based lessons are also
provided in file-formats that can be modified to meet your specific teaching
objectives and requirements. The purchase of the CD permits you to directly
use up to 50 images from the teaching-reference collection in your own
course page. There are also hundreds of other images associated with the
available HTML-based lessons that can be used in your course-pages in the
context of the HTML-lessons included on the CD.

The many teaching materials (images, HTML-lessons, laboratory activities,
and source files) provided on this CD represent the contribution (directly
and indirectly) of 21 separate Botanists (in the broadest sense). They
are a polished and coherent set of educational materials (text and pictures)
that can be used immediately by faculty and students to associate the diversity
of evolved plant structures with their adaptive functions. These same materials
can also be used as a refined source of teaching materials in our own courses
at institutions (which are likely not as resource-rich as the University
of Wisconsin's Department of Botany). At a fair cost of $100.00, I especially
recommend that department's purchase a copy of this CD in support of their
undergraduate curriculum and their faculty's efforts to properly use computer
technology in instruction.

This disk, which worked on both Apple and PC computers, supplies many
attractive and appropriate photographs (typically in color). The inclusion
of Portfolio Browser software (5.0) made finding the right image easy.
However, the hardware and software requirements for the browser software
likely limit its use with computers manufactured and sold in the last five
years (Apple: OS 8.1 or higher, PowerPC processor, a minimum of 6MB RAM,
displaying thousands of colors and Quicktime 4.0 strongly recommended &
PC: Windows 95 or higher, Pentium 133MHz or compatible, 32MB RAM, displaying
thousands of colors and Quicktime 4.0 strongly recommended). Because the
images were saved at the resolution level (72 dpi) intended for viewing
on a computer monitor (or video projection from a computer) they lost sharpness
only when intentionally enlarged above 100%. If viewed at the intended
size, the images were both sharp and bright. This minor technical limitation
(72 dpi) might be addressed in future editions of the toolkit as the resolving
ability of computer monitors and video projectors improves. - Martin G.
Kelly, Department of Biology, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY 14222

Penguin Dictionary
of Plant Sciences, 2nd edition. Edited by Jill Bailey. Penguin Books,
27 Wright's Lane, London W8 5TZ, England. 1999. ISBN 0-14-051403-1. 504
pp. - I especially value scientific dictionaries. I often recommend that
students buy (and keep) one as their first professional reference book,
rather than rely on textbook glossaries which are gone and forgotten, when
the text is not kept by the student. More importantly, a science dictionary,
if used across a set of courses, can help a student make intellectual connections
across the curriculum. The back-cover of this book indicates that the Penguin
Dictionary of Plant Sciences, 2nd edition is a substantially revised edition
of The Penguin Dictionary of Botany. That this revision was motivated by
"rapid developments in the fields of taxonomy, biotechnology, and laboratory
techniques". That it contains 4,000 entries (600 new), extensive rewriting
of many definitions, and adoption (in 1999!) of the five Kingdom system
of classification.

Based on my examination and evaluation of the Penguin Dictionary of
Plant Sciences, I consider this a valuable reference for scientists and
graduate students in the plant sciences. I think that this dictionary's
style and readability would limit its appeal to (and use by) interested
lay readers and most undergraduate students in biological sciences for
the following reasons.

My first impression of the dictionary is how few illustrations (all
line drawings) are presented. There are 72 sets of figures. One set of
figures is presented roughly every seven pages of text. What is especially
notable (in a dictionary of plant science), is that 30 sets of figures
represent either a chemical structure or chemical pathway. It is troubling
that so few figures are used to make the point being described, and that
fully 42% of these figures illustrate chemistry rather than structure.
I doubt that this dictionary would visually interest most students or be
as attractive as the publisher hopes it will be.

In order to evaluate the content of the Penguin Dictionary of Plant
Sciences, I randomly selected one defined term per letter of the alphabet
(using a random number generator). When the random number exceeded the
total number of entries (for a letter), I evaluated the last defined term
in that set. I examined the definitions for the following terms (allopolyploidy,
biological clock, capillitium, day length, Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway,
field theory, giant ferns, heterokaryon, internode, juvenility, kymograph,
lectotype, mannan, nyctinasty, osmosis, phaeoplast, quinone fungicide,
raceme, saccharose, tetraspore, utricle, vesicle, WorldWide Fund for Nature,
xylose, yellows, & zymase). I found that the definitions for these
terms were usually both complete and correct with the following exceptions
(capillitium - structure's location vague, giant ferns - requires knowledge
of descriptive terms for ferns, quinone fungicide - quinone not defined,
& WorldWide Fund for Nature - not explained in the context of plant
science).

In order to evaluate the readability of the text, I scanned two pages
358 and 359, and used the readability analysis provided by my word processing
software. Readability scores provide information about the reading level
of the document based on the average number of syllables per word and the
number of words per sentence. These two pages provided 1,010 words and
60 sentences for analysis. The "Flesch reading ease" score rates text on
a 100-point scale. As this score increases, it is easier to read and understand
the text. For most standard documents, the goal is to have a "reading ease
score" around 65; the randomly selected text from the Penguin Dictionary
of Plant Sciences had a "reading ease score" of 39.5. The "Flesch-Kincaid
grade level score" rates text on the needed reading skills for a typical
U.S. school student (K-12) in a specific grade. For most standard documents,
the goal is to have a "grade level score" around 7-8; the randomly selected
text from this dictionary had a "grade level score" of 11.8.

To determine if these limitations in are specific to the Penguin Dictionary
of Plant Sciences, it would be useful to compare this plant science dictionary
to the few others currently in print (Dictionary of Plant Science, Oxford
Paperback Reference Series & Dictionary of Botany, Wordsworth Reference;
Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Guide, Spring Lake Publishing),
as well as more general dictionaries of biology (Penguin Dictionary of
Biology; A Dictionary of Biology, Oxford Paperback Reference Series) -
Martin G. Kelly, Department of Biology, Buffalo State College, Buffalo,
NY 14222.

Books Received

If you would like to review a book or books for PSB, contact the Editor,
stating the book of interest and the date by which it would be reviewed
(1 February,1 May, 1 August or 1 November). Send E-mail to sundberm@emporia.edu,
call or write as soon as you notice the book of interest in this list because
they go quickly! Ed.

American Journal of Botany back issuesAmerican Journal of Botany back issues from 1914 (volume 1)
are available on the JSTOR web site http://www.jstor.org/.
Articles can be viewed as citations, graphics (scalable high quality gif
images), or downloaded into standard or high quality PDF reprints. Contents
can be browsed or searched. The JSTOR material is subject to a five year
moving wall; more recent on-line copies of the Journal will remain
at http://www.amjbot.org.

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